Itella to cut 360 jobs
Finland’s postal service, now known as Itella, has announced plans to cut 360 jobs by the end of next year. It hopes that the majority of the jobs can be reduced through normal staff attrition, reports YLE. The article continues:
The cuts are a result of new efficient machines and the fact that the company is concentrating mail sorting operations in Helsinki, Tampere, Kuopio, and Oulu. This will create redundancies that will reduce the need for personnel, says Itella.
Itella has already undergone several negotiations in local units on cutting jobs due to the reduced volume of mail.
“The state and our biggest customers are pushing their invoices and bank statements onto the Internet,” says Itella President and CEO Jukka Aho. “At the beginning of 2011 there will also be a new law which will certainly increase competition. We simply have to keep our costs down in light of these things.”
Staff cuts will be made at nine sites. The most job losses are planned for in Helsinki, Turku and Lapeenranta.
“We have a very high staff turnover. This year the change in personnel is around 1,500,” notes Aho. “So maybe most of the reductions can be achieved through retirement or people leaving on their own.”
Itella employs around 23,000 people nationwide.
