Tallinn Airport to Lay Off 17% of the Employees

According to predictions, recovery of the number of passengers to the pre-crisis level shall take two years. “We believe that we will reach the level of year 2019, i.e. 3 million passengers, only by the end of year 2022. From there on we are predicting a growth in the number of passengers but in a shorter perspective we have to make very difficult and painful decisions in order to ensure continued economic operations,” said Riivo Tuvike, chairman of the board of AS Tallinna Lennujaam.

Tallinn Airport Group has reduced the investments planned for year 2020 by EUR 10.3 million, i.e. by 25%, and operating expenses by EUR 5.4 million, i.e. by 27%. “As labour costs form 41% of the fixed costs of the Airport, unfortunately we cannot avoid cutting those,” said Tuvike.

According to Tuvike, the group reduced the work load and salary of the employees in March by 20% for three months; the measure of the Unemployment Insurance Fund quickly implemented by the state has been of great help. “The measures have helped us in the short term but unfortunately that is not sufficient in order to manage the situation. Thus, we have decided to lay off 17% of the employees of the Airport, i.e. 111 people during the period from July to September,” Tuvike said.

“We have tried to delay the decision as long as possible and tried to find other options first. Undoubtedly it impacts a large number of our employees, both financially and emotionally. I am sincerely sorry that we had to make this decision. We support the employees who leave in finding new jobs through various trainings and counselling,” Tuvike added.

The number of passengers of Tallinn Airport was 99% lower in comparison to year 2019. According to predictions, by the end of the year the number of passengers will be over 50% lower and the company will have a loss of several million euros.