Finnair aims for clear productivity improvement as part of €60m savings program

Finnair seeks clear savings in personnel costs as part of its €60m savings program announced on October 26, 2012. The company has further defined its plans as it prepares to discuss collective labour agreements with its flying personnel, customer service personnel, cargo personnel and technical personnel in the autumn. Especially in connection with the collective labour agreement negotiations, there is a good opportunity to agree on necessary savings together. Primarily the aim is to identify saving methods that would not impact base salary, but would nonetheless decrease company costs. Finnair has already begun discussions with labour groups and their respective labour unions (Finnair Airline Pilots Association, Finnish Cabin Crew Union and Finnish Aviation Union) on methods and schedules by which the saving targets could be reached. The aim is to consider how compensation and working time structures could be renewed to make them competitive and to better align them with market salaries and practices. The aim is to also to discuss methods to reduce costs which would not impact on employees’ earnings. The collective labour agreements between Finnair and these unions end at the end of this year or the beginning of next year. Pilots’ and cabin attendants’ share from this program is approximately €35m, which is divided roughly in half between these groups. Finnair’s saving target for technical and Customer Service and Technical Services employees is approximately €8m.