Attendo axes 150 care service staff to save money

Care services provider Attendo on Monday announced to terminate 150 employees as a part of austerity measures.

Attendo finalised the decision of reducing the number of staff following co-determination negotiations completed on Monday, said Attendo in a press release.

The company is cutting jobs because the government of Finland is ruthlessly cutting funding of social welfare and health care services, said the Public and Welfare Sectors Trade Union JHL in a press release on Monday.

Earlier Attendo announced that 149 employees of Kauniala hospital will lose jobs due to the changed negotiations.

JHL said that the terminations reflected the government’s decisions to cut funding of health and social care services by billions of euros and the terminations are just a prelude to a rundown of social welfare and health care services.

These staff reductions endanger services that are necessary for people’s rights, said the JHL.

“It is irresponsible to further cut back staff who are already struggling to cope. And at the same time need for services is growing. Delivering the services requires enough professionals in both nursing work and assisting and support service work,” JHL’s Senior Bargaining Specialist Laura Tuominen said.

Furthermore, Attendo and other service providers in elderly care are also getting ready to implement the government’s decision that lowers the minimum staffing level in 24-hour care in the beginning of the year 2025.

The minimum staffing level will change from 0.65 to 0.6 employees per client. This seems to be leading to cutbacks among the current staff.

The, demands that wellbeing services counties and companies pay proper attention to this.

“The minimum staffing level must not become the maximum. The wellbeing services counties’ outsourcing agreements cannot be made so that care is systematically priced based on the minimum staffing level,” said President of JHL Håkan Ekström.