Coronavirus prompts Viking Line to crop staff
Published : 24 Aug 2020, 22:00
Updated : 25 Aug 2020, 00:36
The cruise ship operator Viking Line will begin cooperation negotiations with its land-based staff in Finland, Sweden, Estonia, and Åland from 1 September, said an official press release.
The negotiations will affect all of the company’s land-based staff of about 570 people in these countries.
The company on Monday sent notification to the Finnish organisation in this regard, while, on the same day, the Swedish organisation began negotiations in accordance with the Swedish Act on Co-Determination in the Workplace.
The company plans to reorganise the functions of the land-based organisation in order to cut costs.
“The ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has caused a serious deterioration in the Group’s operating conditions. Since March 2020, operations have been dominated by the travel restrictions introduced, with the consequence being a reduced propensity to travel in the company’s markets. For Viking Line, the most important restrictions still in effect concern travel restrictions between Finland and Sweden. In this challenging situation, adaptation measures are unfortunately needed to secure the company’s future operating conditions,” said Viking Line President and CEO Jan Hanses in a statement.
The planned measures are expected to result in a shift to part-time jobs, layoffs or redundancies for up to 200 people.