Finnair to lay off its entire cabin crew staff for two weeks as cost-cutting measure

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The Finnish national carrier Finnair is seeking to temporarily dismiss its entire cabin crew staff for two weeks in 2009.
      The economy measure will be carried out in stages on alternating weeks, and all of the around 2,000 stewards and air hostesses on the company payroll will be included.
      The Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE first reported Finnair’s plans on Tuesday.
     
The temporary lay-offs are part of a package of cost-cutting measures announced by Finnair in June. The programme aims at annual savings of around EUR 50 million. Half of this is to be achieved by reducing personnel expenses.
      The aim is to reduce the company’s personnel expenditure by five per cent.
      Finnair has held staff negotiations with different personnel groups on how this result could be achieved.
      The talks with the cabin crew have already been brought to a fruitful conclusion, but discussions still continue, for example, with the pilots.
     
Finnair’s aim is to cut down around 500 man-years from its payroll outgoings. The two-week temporary dismissals of the cabin crew next year only account for just under 80 man-years.
      The Asian cabin crew working on Finnair’s intercontinental flights to Asia have been excluded from the lay-offs, as they are primarily on separate staff rental contracts, YLE reports.
     
Despite the lay-offs Finnair will not have to carry out any major alterations to its flight schedules, Finnair Vice President Financial, Communications and Investor Relations Taneli Hassinen tells Helsingin Sanomat.
      The company recently axed its Chinese connection to Canton. Other connections will also be trimmed here and there.
     
Finnair announced in the summer that it would have to engage in economic measures because of the low ticket prices (a product of tough competition in the market) and high fuel costs.
      Airlines worldwide continue to be in a parlous state, and are looking towards the impending recesssion with dread as passenger occupancy figures slide inexorably downwards.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Finnair presents personnel with hard choice (5.9.2008)

Links:
  Finnair Press Release, 12 June 2008

Helsingin Sanomat