“The aviation and travel industries are facing unprecedented financial difficulties. Flying has stopped almost completely, which has led to a significant decrease in our income. We must adjust Finavia’s operations to the situation and prepare for the possibility that it may take years for travel to return to normal,” says Kimmo Mäki, Finavia’s President and CEO.
According to a preliminary estimate, Finavia needs to cut a maximum of 130 jobs and Airpro a maximum of 350 jobs.
So far, staff has been temporarily laid off both on a part-time and on a full-time basis at both companies. Some of the companies’ employees have been temporarily laid off since March. The temporary lay-offs are estimated to continue.
“Until now, we have used temporary lay-offs that started in spring and have lasted for a long time to try to retain jobs and our special aviation industry expertise. However, as the coronavirus crisis has continued, it has become clear that there is no longer enough work for everyone,” says Mäki.
Both companies will hold their own cooperation negotiations, which will start on 4 November 2020.
Finavia and Airpro want to look after their staff in this difficult situation and have started preparing various support measures.
Finavia Group started an extensive cost-cutting programme at the beginning of the coronavirus crisis and has cut costs significantly in operations. The company is aiming for a total of EUR 200 million in savings by 2023, and job cuts are one part of this.
The impact of the travel and aviation industries
- The travel industry employs more than 140,000 people in Finland. The industry’s share of Finland’s GDP is nearly 3%.The travel demand in Finland amounts to EUR 16 billion annually.
- There are 1,500 companies operating at Helsinki Airport alone, employing more than 20,000 people.
- During its construction phase, the Helsinki Airport Development Programme provides work for 16,000 people, and its share of domestic content is nearly 90%.
Finavia’s financial data
- Business Review, January–June 2020 , has been published on the company website.
- Business Review, January–September 2020, will be published on 3 November 2020.
- Air traffic statistics
