Finnair plans 200 jobs cuts

HELSINKI — Finnish airline Finnair said on Thursday it was opening negotiations to cut around 200 jobs, in an effort to stem losses after a difficult few years for the aviation industry.

The Nordic carrier announced a new strategy earlier this month to cut costs, including trimming its fleet, after the closure of Russian air space and the COVID-19 pandemic eroded profitability.

In the latest move Finnair said in a Thursday statement that it had started negotiations on redundancies which could see around 200 jobs lost globally.

"Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the closed Russian airspace have impacted our business significantly," Finnair CEO Topi Manner said.

"Thus, in addition to other actions to restore Finnair's profitability, we have to discuss measures that are, unfortunately, the most painful ones for our employees."

The airline has maintained connections to Asia following the European Union's decision to close its airspace to Russian aircraft and a tit-for-tat response from Moscow, but at the cost of a diversion of several hours and added fuel costs.

The carrier said the profitability plan will meet the "changes in Finnair's operating environment", adding it will be "operating with a smaller capacity than before the pandemic."

Like many of its competitors, Finnair was forced to take major cost-cutting measures to cope with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. 

At the end of 2021, Finnair had 5,365 employees, about 850 fewer than at the end of 2020 and 1,400 fewer than before COVID-19.