EU job-search aid: €2.6 million for 821 former Nokia workers in Finland
EU job-search aid worth €2,641,800 for 821 former ICT workers in Finland was approved by the European Parliament in a vote on Wednesday.
- Staff made redundant by Nokia and three of its suppliers and downstream producers.
- 821 out of 945 redundant workers are expected to benefit from the aid.
- Job losses were the result of fierce competition between the Finnish and foreign ICT sector.
The resolution, by rapporteur Petri Sarvamaa (EPP, FI), recommending that the aid request be approved, was passed by 554 votes to 70, with 8 abstentions.
ICT plays a key structural role in the Finnish economy, Budgets Committee MEPs note in the resolution. They point out that the latest redundancies at Nokia “reflect a trend that affects the Finnish technology industry as a whole, where employment numbers in the last two years are extremely unstable as a result of high pressure to increase efficiency and maintain the competitiveness of products.”
They also note that the redundancies are part of Nokia’s worldwide transformation programme, “which is needed in order to be able to compete with East Asian rivals.” The areas concerned are the regions around the cities of Helsinki, Oulu and Tampere (Helsinki-Uusimaa, Pirkanmaa, Northern Ostrobothnia).
Next steps
The EGF aid was already approved by the Council of Ministers on 15 May and can now be used.
Quick facts
The measures co-financed by the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund helps redundant workers with career coaching and individual guidance, employment and business services, a variety of vocational training schemes, services for new entrepreneurs and start-up grants, hiring incentives, training-related allowances, subsidies and contributions towards removal costs. The Fund’s annual ceiling is €150 million.
€2.6 million ; in EU aid to help 821 former Nokia employees find new jobs
