Trade Union News from Finland

Helsinki (17.04.2009 / edited 20.04.2009 - Juhani Artto) This year, the sixteen largest Finnish-based industrial companies have, in total, approximately 106,000 employees in Finland - a quarter less than in 2000. In the same period the companies have almost doubled their personnel abroad.

A similar trend affects the whole industrial sector, but at a slower space. According to the Confederation of Finnish Industries EK Finnish-based companies of the sector employed 442,000 people in Finland last year and 360,000 outside of the country. In 2000, almost 500,000 people worked, in Finland, in the industrial sector.

Among the sixteen largest companies more than half of the domestic drop in the number of employees took place in the forest industry. Most of the changes in other sectors were modest.

Outside of Finland almost half of the personnel enlargement took place in the world's number one mobile telephone company Nokia. Half of Nokia's growth abroad was a result of the 2006 merger of network businesses of Nokia and Siemens. 

Also a few other technology industry companies, such as Metso, Kone and Elcoteq, significantly expanded their labour force outside of Finland. The total number of employees abroad of the three largest forest industry companies decreased slightly.

Source: Jukka Lukkari, Suomalaisten yritysten väki valuu ulkomaille, Tekniikka&Talous 03.04.2009