Tallink Swedish subsidiary to lay off up to 450 employees
Tallink Silja AB, the Swedish subsidiary of Estonian shipper Tallink Grupp, informed the crews of the Swedish-flagged MS Galaxy and MS Silja Symphony as well as its Swedish shore personnel on Tuesday that it has launched a layoff process in which up to 450 positions will be laid off from the company. This round of layoffs will primarily affect members of the crews of both vessels, but also some shore personnel positions as well.
The crisis caused by the novel coronavirus has had an especially significant impact on the tourism and international transport sectors, and travel restrictions have led to the company's turnover practically disappearing in recent months, Tallink said in a press release, noting that the company's passenger numbers plummeted by nearly 96 percent on year in April. In order to survive the crisis, the company has to decrease the current size of the company and bring all of its expenses in line with its new reality.
"Various travel restrictions have put passenger sea transport under tremendous pressure, and it is clear by now that we will have to continue significantly restricting our activities for some time yet," Tallink Silja AB CEO Marcus Risberg said. "Thus we have no choice but to reduce the size of our organization and lay off positions both on our ships as well as onshore."
As its next step, the Swedish subsidiary's management will begin negotiations with representatives of relevant trade unions in order to find the best possible solutions for employees to be affected by Tuesday's decision.
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Editor: Aili Vahtla
