Tallink Silja is giving notice to all of its more than 500 onboard employees and the shipping company is appealing to the government to extend the short-term layoffs. According to the industry organization Visita, 60,000 people are covered by the short-term layoffs in the tourism industry alone, which is now threatened by a large wave of notices unless the government quickly announces an extension of the support.
”"Unfortunately, we are now facing an almost catastrophic situation. The possibility of short-term layoffs, which has so far saved many jobs, expires for us at the end of November, and no announcement has been made from the government about an extension, even though the possibility exists in the law," says Marcus Risberg, CEO of Tallink Silja AB.
He states that on Thursday the shipping company gave a very large notice of termination for all on-board employees within the collective agreement areas SEKO and SBF.
”"This concerns all of the more than 500 employees on board our two Swedish-flagged ships. It feels incredibly heavy but is unfortunately necessary," says Marcus Risberg.
You have previously reported that Tallink Silja has been forced to give notice and lay off staff after the corona pandemic led to a collapse in demand. Government decisions and travel restrictions have meant that the ships have been forced to be taken out of service and revenues have virtually disappeared.
Thanks to the possibility of short-term layoffs, Tallink Silja has been able to partially reorganize its previous traffic to Finland and the Baltics to instead operate domestic cruises during the summer and autumn. ”These have been received extremely well by the market. But when the short-term layoffs now disappear, the possibility of conducting this business also ceases,” says Marcus Risberg.
In addition to possible layoffs of up to 500 Swedish seafarers, Tallink Silja's cutbacks will affect both supply chains and industry, as well as the tourism industry, he states.
”"In a normal year, cruise traffic with passenger ships to and from Stockholm generates around 10 million passengers and around 5 billion kronor in revenue for the tourism industry and trade in Stockholm alone. We are convinced that many other companies in the industry are also threatened by major layoffs. To avoid this, we urge the government to change course and extend the short-term layoffs as quickly as possible," says Marcus Risberg.
Visita, which is an industry and employer organization in the hospitality industry, estimates that a very large wave of layoffs is coming soon due to the fact that government support through short-term layoffs, among other things, is expiring soon.
”"It's a ticking time bomb. I receive daily signals from our member companies that many new and very large notices are imminent due to the period of short-term layoffs coming to an end," says Jonas Siljhammar, CEO of Visita.
The tourism industry, which includes thousands of companies including hotels, restaurants, campsites and ski resorts, employed around 200,000 people before the pandemic.
”"Many jobs have already been lost due to the catastrophic downturn, not least the extensive restrictions imposed by the authorities, which continue to hit very hard. But over 60,000 employees in the hospitality industry alone are subject to short-term layoffs and many of those jobs are now at risk unless the government acts quickly," says Jonas Siljhammar.
In addition to taking advantage of the opportunity to extend the system of short-term layoffs, the government should also extend the adjustment support as well as the deferral of tax payments, Visita believes.
Tallink Silja's owner Tallink is listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange and has a market capitalization of 427 million euros at the time of writing. According to Holdings, the largest owner is Estonian Infortar with 39 percent of the shares.
Source: di.se
