The coronavirus crisis has continued to destroy more and more Finnish companies, causing layoffs and losses. In the last day alone, the national airline Finnair announced its intention to cut 1,000 jobs, and the shipping company Viking Line announced that 200 jobs are in the cutting plant.
According to the chief economist of the Confederation of Businesses, there are still redundancies in the near future, Mika Kuismanen.
“The autumn will certainly bring a considerable number of redundancies,” he told about the Yle-TV talk show from A-studio on Tuesday night.
He pointed out that layoffs by large companies always have wider implications, as they lead to a subsequent reduction in the use of subcontractors and related businesses – which has an impact on the economy as a whole.
“Yes, these are serious issues that affect the labor market and the issues around it,” Kuismanen said.
New jobs for laid-off workers
At the same time as a guest of the program, Minister of Labor Tuula Haatainen (SDP) noted that it is important for those who have lost their jobs to find a new job immediately after their dismissal. He said they need to contact the TE Office’s employment offices before they are laid off.
“Employees should map out their set of skills, find out what other skills should be supplemented and work together [with the employment office] look for a new job so that they do not fall into unemployment,” Haatainen said.
Economist Kuismanen said that while it was great that the authorities reacted quickly to the announcements about job cuts, he said that there were still no plans.
“This is a bit of a band support approach. When there are many [layoffs], agencies and offices cannot help everyone,” he noted that structural factors are much more important in helping people get jobs.
He said that when people become unemployed, they should be encouraged to move into active job search.
Goals and ideas
Haatainen said that only the unemployed should be offered training and support, and said the government is more interested in investing in stimuli than in budget cuts.
“Now that unemployment has risen and the labor market has slowed down, there is no time to cut safety nets,” he said.
Finland lags behind the other Nordic countries in terms of employment services, the Minister of Labor stated that he would like to see more people with mild disabilities in his workforce, as in Sweden. Haatainen also said it was especially important to invest in education and youth.
On the other hand, Kuismanen said that investments should be made in people who are in the best working year. According to him, the best way to reduce unemployment rates would be to stagger and shorten earnings-related unemployment insurance, re-evaluate the pension system and, for example, expand apprenticeship programs for young people.
Suomen Yrittäjät represents more than 115,000 SMEs and their owners.