EGF grants EUR 3.5m for axed Microsoft staff

The European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) has granted Finland EUR 3.5 million to assist the people laid off by Microsoft.

The funds will be used to help the approximately 1,000 people made redundant by Microsoft in finding new jobs, said an official press release.

The European Parliament on Wednesday approved the application for grant submitted by Finland in February to the EGF.

“EU support has been highly important for the re-employment of people who have been made redundant because of the rapid transformation of the Finnish ICT sector. Our sincere hope is that no new applications will be needed, but this kind of dramatic layoffs that send shockwaves all through the sector are now over,” said Minister of Labour Jari Lindström.

“We firmly believe that the people laid off from Microsoft will soon find new jobs. The recovery of Finland’s economy has significantly increased the demand for skilled labour, and Finnish ICT expertise is highly competitive in the global context,” the minister said.

Measures in support of re-employment and starting new businesses have already been launched in the localities affected by the redundancies. Measures by means of the EU funds to be taken in the regions will be coordinated with Microsoft’s own measures to support re-employment.

The European Union institutions are currently processing an application submitted by Finland in June concerning support for those made redundant in the retail and wholesale sector. Funds would be used to help more than 1,500 people laid off in the trade sector.

In support from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund, the EU’s funding share is 60 per cent and the national contribution is 40 per cent.

In cases of major structural change, EGF support is granted for active employment policy measures, such as different forms of training, education, promotion of mobility, pay subsidies and start-up grants.