Personnel Groups News

Finnish shipbuilder Meyer Turku on Tuesday started statutory talks to lay off up to 450 of its roughly 2,000 employees because of a hit to business from the coronavirus pandemic.The Turku shipyard on Finland's west coast, which primarily builds cruise ships, had initially started talks over temporary layoffs, but said the market situation had now forced it to look for permanent cuts."These negotiations will include the permanent layoff of 450 people and another 900 are affected by other measures. These include temporary layoffs of different length, work time adjustments and other arrangements.

STX Finland has been actively seeking solutions for saving the Finnish shipyard industry. In September 2013, the company launched a major restructuring aimed at safeguarding the operating potential of the company and, by extension, the entire maritime industry in Finland, thus ending the years of uncertainty. As part of the STX Finland Oy restructuring, cooperation negotiations concerning the Rauma and Turku Shipyards have been conducted between the personnel groups and the company management. The negotiations were completed on October 29, 2013.

As part of the restructuring of STX Finland, current operations at the Rauma Shipyard will be ramped down and functions shifted to the Turku Shipyard. Like other European shipyards, the Finnish shipbuilding industry is suffering the effects of the recession in the global economy; an increase in surplus capacity and the financial crisis have all led to a cut in orders and stiffened competition. Consequently STX Finland say they have been been activelly seeking solutions in order to save the Finnish shipyard industry.

STX Finland, which has seen a deterioration of its shipbuilding base for many years, today announced its latest plan to stem the flow of red ink: a phase out of the Rauma shipyard. Senior management cited the continued bad global economy in the wake of the economic meltdown of 2008 as the primary source of trouble. "The decisions made now are based on a realistic estimate of the company’s current state and the market outlook,” said Jari Anttila, EVP & Deputy CEO of STX Finland.

On May 14 the Ship Power business of Wärtsilä Corporation initiated formal process to realign its organization and resources to adjust to the substantially weakened global marine market situation. Negotiations will affect all of Wärtsilä Ship Power’s personnel in all functions globally. The number of jobs to be reduced is 400-450, of which approximately 80 are in Finland. In taking these measures, Wärtsilä is looking for annual savings of approximately $40.6m. The effect of the savings will start to materialize gradually from the second part of 2009, and will take full effect by the end of 2010. “The situation in the shipping industry has changed dramatically during the past six months…

Wärtsilä will outsource manufacturing of engine components in Zwolle, the Netherlands, selling its production capacity to an outside supplier. At the same time Wärtsilä has decided to further develop its service activities at Zwolle. The solution, which is still subject to approval by the personnel, will make it possible to retain about 290 jobs in Zwolle. Wärtsilä announced in November 2001 that it planned to terminate its operations in Zwolle and to move engine manufacturing to Italy. Wärtsilä also proposed to relocate its service activities to the service unit in Schiedam. Wärtsilä Nederland has altogether 810 employees: 660 in Zwolle and 150 in Schiedam. Wärtsilä entered a EUR 90 million provision in its 2001 accounts to cover the costs of these restructuring measures.