Finnair starts co-operation negotiations on plans to reduce 1 000 jobs due to COVID-19 impacts and travel restrictions; long-term temporary layoffs continue for thousands of Finnair employees

Finnair starts co-operation negotiations on its plan to reduce up to 1,000 jobs, to make other structural changes and to implement additional temporary layoffs due to the impacts of the corona pandemic. The co-operation negotiations concern approximately 2,800 employees working at Finnair in Finland, and similar processes are conducted in Finnair’s units abroad. Finnair employs a total of approximately 6,700 employees, of whom 6,200 are based in Finland. Almost all of Finnair’s employees in Finland have been temporary laid off for a part of the spring and summer. In addition to the planned personnel reductions, Finnair will continue to apply temporary layoffs for practically all its personnel in Finland. The temporary layoffs can be either for fixed term or until further notice.

The goal is to ensure the continuity of Finnair’s core operations so that cabin and flight deck crew can return to work gradually as soon as the market recovers and flights can be increased. For this reason, Finnair is not currently planning permanent reduction of its flying personnel in Finland.

”COVID-19 is the deepest crisis of aviation. The pandemic and the exceptionally tight travel restrictions in Finland have impacted flight demand and we will operate only a small part of our capacity compared to last year. A rapid turn for the better in the pandemic situation is unfortunately not in sight. Our revenue has decreased considerably, and that is why we simply must adjust our costs to our new size”, says Topi Manner, Finnair CEO.

”We want to build a competitive future for Finnair and retain as many jobs at Finnair as possible. Also, we want to be able to offer good connections to the world for Finns and the Finnish economy in the future. Unfortunately, this requires the measures we announced today. As the timeline for aviation’s recovery is unclear, our plan is also to implement significant temporary layoffs to adjust our resources.”

Finnair wants to act responsibly in this difficult situation and will support affected employees through a social program, which will include practical job-to-job support, training and guidance on entrepreneurship.

The planned personnel reduction measures are included in Finnair’s savings target, which Finnair has today updated from 80 million euros to 100 million euros.