Finnair expects to reduce its workforce by some 200, of which most are in Finland. The airline will start negotiations about job cuts with unions and employee representatives on October 5. The reductions are part of the revised strategy that the airline announced on September 7. Finnair to cut some 200 jobs in managerial roles.
Following the effects of the Covid-crisis and more recently the closure of the Russian airspace on its network to Asia, Finnair said a review of the strategy and network is needed. The carrier wants to reduce unit costs by fifteen percent and achieve an EBIT level of five percent by mid-2024.
CEO Topi Manner said on September 7 that Finnair would reduce its fleet, but he hasn’t specified by how many aircraft. Staff reductions were also anticipated and have now been confirmed to be around 200. Of them, 120 out of 770 jobs in managerial and expert roles will have to go. Excluded are crew or staff in operational positions. Finnair employs 5.300 staff.
The airline expects negotiations to last some six weeks. It plans to offer a social support program to employees who will lose their jobs, similar to the program that Finnair offered in 2020 when it reduced its headcount during the Covid crisis.
In a media statement, Manner says: “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the closed Russian airspace have impacted our business significantly. Thus, in addition to other actions to restore Finnair’s profitability, we have to discuss measures that are, unfortunately, the most painful ones for our employees”.
