Like most airlines around the world, Finnair is struggling to find ways to cut costs as the number of global air travellers continues to slump. The Finnish national carrier is presently in talks with its employees over ways to save money, but the end result could leave up to 1,200 Finnair staff members out of a job.
SIKUnews reports that although Finnair has yet to set a target for how much it needs to financially cut back, one of the measures leading the pack is to reduce personnel costs by 15 percent. Timo Willberg, the President of the Finnish Airline Pilots’ Association, confirms that this move would require either laying off the airline’s entire staff for two months each or axing 1,200 employees.
The prospect of asking its staff to take a pay cut has been emphatically rejected by nearly every sector within the airline. The Finnish Cabin Crew Union opposes the notion of a pay cut, instead preferring simple layoffs. The Union of Salaried Employees, which represents Finnair’s administrative and technical staff, has also firmly rejected the proposal of a pay cut.
SIKUnews confirms that Finnair has been particularly hard hit by the global recession that is prompting people to fly less. In late April, the carrier said that more than 6,000 employees have already been affected by temporary layoffs. But with a bleak forecast for itself in 2009, more staff trimming may be on the way.