Glaston Initiates Employee Cooperation Negotiations Regarding Temporary Layoffs in Finland

Glaston Corp. initiated employee cooperation negotiations regarding possible temporary layoffs in its Finnish units. The potential layoffs concern all employees in Finland, approximately 180 people, say company officials.

“Due to the coronavirus situation, there have been rapid changes in our business environment and, at the same time, restrictions on mobility due to the virus also affect the amount of work involved in certain activities. Changes in demand are difficult to assess at the moment, but by reorganizing work and teleworking, we aim to mitigate potential personnel impacts,” says Arto Metsänen, CEO of Glaston.

The plan is to achieve the necessary level of adjustment by using temporary layoffs of at most 90 days per employee. Negotiations will begin on March 25, 2020, and will last for up to two weeks. The layoffs are planned to start immediately after the conclusion of the negotiations and will be implemented in stages according to the workload.

Negotiations regarding short time work have also been launched in the company's German and Swiss units and adjustment measures will be taken in other units according to need. All of the above measures are due to the rapid changes in the business environment caused by COVID-19 and the mobility restrictions caused by the virus, which in the company’s estimation will also affect the amount of work involved in certain activities.