Restructuring events
European Restructuring Monitor (ERM)
The restructuring events database contains factsheets with data on large-scale restructuring events reported in the principal national media and company websites in each EU Member State. This database was created in 2002.
Some 120 employees are to be made redundant at the airline Finnair after the long personnel negotiations that began in June 2008 have now been concluded. The goal of the negotiations was to achieve 25 million euros of savings in personnel expenses, corresponding to around five per cent of total personnel costs.
The need for personnel reductions was estimated in the summer at 500 jobs. Around 120 of these will be implemented as redundancies. The remainder of the savings will arise mainly through temporary lay-offs. In addition, the number of Finnair Group personnel will fall through the ending of 400 fixed-term employment contracts at the turn of the year or during the spring 2009. "As a result of this exceptionally long and thorough process, we managed to limit the number of redundancies. Lay-offs will be applied to all levels of the company's personnel, and they will be arranged so as to minimise disruption to the flight programme," explains Finnair's SVP Human Resources Anssi Komulainen.
In addition to the 120 redundancies, more than 3,000 Finnair employees will be temporarily laid off during this year, as a rule for periods of 2-3 weeks. Some of the employees have participated in the joint cost-cutting measures by voluntarily giving up their holiday pay. As far as pilots are concerned, the YT negotiations have been suspended due to ongoing collective employment agreement negotiations, but YT negotiations will continue in order to reach the target.
The personnel savings are part of a 50 million euro profitability improvement programme initiated in the summer of 2008. "By these measures we will cut costs by around 20 million euros. But this will not be enough. Due to further weakened demand and the financial situation we will continue actively to seek new significant efficiency measures," says Komulainen.
For further information, see EIRO report.
Eurofound (2008), Finnair, Internal restructuring in Finland, factsheet number 66773, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://dev.eurofound.europa.eu/restructuring-events/detail/66773.
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