Finnair Looking at More Layoffs

Finnair has announced that it will begin discussions with relevant parties on 25 May about reducing the number of people on its payroll.

Finnair has approximately 6,100 employees in Finland.

The airline has said that, if realised, the layoffs could be temporary, for a fixed period of time, or until further notice.

Similar measures are planned for those Finnair employees who are based outside of Finland.

As with most airlines, Finnair has been hit very hard by the COVID19 pandemic, and in July aims to operate approximately 30% of its normal schedule.

“It is clear that as we fly significantly less, the amount of work available is lower than normally as well. The gradually growing traffic program will increase also resource needs in due course. However, considering the uncertainties caused by travel restrictions and the coronavirus situation in general, the return to normal will take a considerable time. That is why the temporary layoffs we now start negotiations on unfortunately seem to be inevitable, ”says Johanna Karppi, SVP for People & Culture at Finnair.

In 2019, volume-driven costs formed about 60% of Finnair’s total cost base. The airline is looking to reduce costs by almost 80-million Euro starting from year 2022 compared to year 2019.

Finnair will drive this by cutting real estate costs, aircraft leasing costs, compensation structures, sales and distribution costs, IT costs as well as administration costs.

Finnair will also continue streamlining of its operations, digitalising and automating its customer processes. The airline also plans to renegotiate its supplier and partner agreements.

Finnair’s CEO, Topi Manner, said, “In the post-corona market, those who can adapt their costs to the changed market and the competitive situation are the ones who will succeed. Finnair intends to be among the winners, and that is why we target savings across different cost items in a determined way.”

Finnair’s current plan assumes that traffic will recover to the 2019 level in 2-3 years.

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