Wages of job-cutters rise handsomely
Amer head Talermo dismisses 250 people, receives raise of 230 percent
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By Annakaisa Pirilä-Mänttäri
The heads of those corporations that decided on the largest numbers of job cuts last year saw their own personal earnings increase handsomely.
Veli-Matti Mattila, the CEO of telecoms operator Elisa, earned over 150 percent more salary income in 2003 than in 2002. Elisa was responsible for last year’s ugliest dismissal figures. Mattila, who sliced hundreds of people off Elisa’s payroll, earned over 600,000 euros last year.
The majority of the people dismissed by Elisa belong to the Union of Salaried Employees, whose members earn an average of 2,300 euros per month. The members saw their wages rise by 3.8 percent last year. The average wage of telephone mechanics who belong to the Finnish Electrical Workers’ Union totalled 2,100 – 2,300 euros per month, with the wage level increasing by some three percent last year.
Roger Talermo, the President and CEO of sports equipment manufacturer Amer, received a particularly hefty raise last year. His salaried income rose by around 230 percent to 2.8 million euros.
The Amer Group decided last year to abandon tobacco production, terminating the employment of 250 people at the Amer tobacco plant in Tuusula. The tobacco makers, who are members of the Finnish Foodstuff Workers' Union, saw their wages rise by 4.6 percent to some 2,050 euros per month last year.
Finnair President Keijo Suila also has little to complain about regarding his wage developments. Suila, who cut the jobs of 450 people, earned over 50 percent more last year than in 2002, or over 600,000 euros. At the same time, the technical airline staff, who belong to the Finnish Aviation Union, received raises of 3.5 percent, lifting their earnings including benefits to some 2,400 monthly euros.
Nokia Chairman and CEO Jorma Ollila showed the most solidarity in his earnings developments. His taxable earned income dropped by nearly 80 percent from the previous year, which had earned him plenty through executive stock option schemes. Mobile handset giant Nokia cut its staff number by 600 people last year.
Despite the considerable decline in pay, Ollila continues to top the Finnish salaried income list with earnings of nearly 3.5 million euros. A large part of the dismissed Nokia employees were engineers, and trade unions estimate that their average wages rose by slightly less than four percent last year.
Engineers with Master’s degrees earned an average of 4,100 euros last year, and those with Bachelor’s degrees grossed 3,100 euros per month.
The Deputy CEO of banking group Nordea, Markku Pohjola, came close to the wage hikes of regular wage-earners, as his income rose by 3.8 percent from the previous year. Pohjola, whose employer slashed the jobs of 250 people last year, earned over 520,000 euros in 2003.
The clear majority of those who lost their jobs at Nordea were bank tellers and other white-collar bank employees, whose trade union reports that their average wages amounted to 2,150 monthly euros last year. The average income of bank tellers rose by 3.5 percent last year.
Jyrki Juusela, the CEO of metals company Outokumpu, handed out pink slips to 184 workers last year. Members of the Finnish Metalworkers’ Union received an average raise of 3.8 percent over the same time period, lifting their earnings to 2,200 euros per month. Juusela himself received a raise of nearly 40 percent, with the CEO’s annual salary totalling 895,000 euros.
Telecoms operator TeliaSonera cut 170 jobs in Finland in 2003. Anni Vepsäläinen, the head of TeliaSonera’s operations in Finland, saw her salary increase by 13 percent to nearly 430,000 euros last year.
President and CEO Jan Ove Lång from housing technology company Uponor needed to content himself with the lowest wage among last year’s large-scale job-cutters. Lång’s annual earned income fell by nearly three percent to 297,000 euros.
The one hundred employees dismissed by Uponor are primarily members of the Chemical Workers’ Union, whose members received raises of slightly less than three percent last year. The standard wage of plastics factory employees was some 1,850 euros per month.
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 2.11.2004
ANNAKAISA PIRILÄ-MÄNTTÄRI / Helsingin Sanomat
annakaisa.pirila-manttari@hs.fi
