30 to lose jobs as FMI starts austerity measures

Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) on Monday started an initiative to reduce up to 30 employees as a part of its austerity measures, said the FMI in a press release.

The FMI has submitted a cooperation negotiation proposal to employee representatives on Monday.

The negotiations will be initiated due to production-related and financial reasons.

The budget for the FMI will face a permanent cut of approximately 6.1 million euros by 2027. Out of this, about 4.4 million euros must be saved by 2025.

The savings target set for the FMI is part of the government's program.

Planned cost-saving measures include personnel reductions. The estimated number of personnel reductions is maximum of 30 persons.

In addition to cuts affecting personnel expenses, savings are also being sought in other areas of the FMI's expenditures.

"In order to align the operations of the Finnish Meteorological Institute with the available operational budget, we unfortunately have to make targeted cuts to our activities. At the same time, we have identified a need to increase new kinds of expertise within our organization. There is strong demand for our weather and safety services, as well as for our high-level research, across various sectors of society. We want to ensure that we remain a competitive organization that serves the needs of society and our clients and promote safety also in the future," said Petteri Taalas, Director General of the FMI.

The Finnish Meteorological Institute employs approximately 760 people.