STT lays off 13 people, the state plans to support the news agency

Finland the information office’s (STT) change negotiations have ended. The company will fire 13 people at the end of its change negotiations. In total, the personnel reduction is 21, as eight employment relationships that ended for other reasons will not be compensated. Seven of these are journalists or photographers.

According to the release, in addition to personnel reductions, a considerable number of employees will have changes to the essential conditions of employment, for example reductions in working hours or changes to the job description.

The use of assistants is also significantly reduced. In April, STT will also give up a large part of the things ordered from assistants, with the exception of sports, where the use of assistants will also decrease.

As a cost-saving measure, STT is also moving the EU special supplier from Brussels to Helsinki.

Instead, the editorial’s night editors return to Sydney, Australia, after a break of many years, where the editors work in the morning shift in Finnish night time.

“In our change planning, we have focused on STT continuing to be a competitive news agency around the clock and every day of the year,” says STT’s editor-in-chief Minna Holopainen.

The negotiations ended on February 5. 10 of the redundancies decided after that and 7 of the reductions in working hours relate to delivery, the rest to other functions of STT.

Change negotiations started in December. At that time, STT announced that 88 people were involved in the negotiations.

Change negotiations in STT’s moderation services are still ongoing, because they only started at the end of January, i.e. later than in the company otherwise. In these negotiations, the estimated need for staff reductions is a maximum of 6 person-years.

In addition the Ministry of Transport and Communications (LVM) announced on Wednesday afternoon that it will start preparations for a one-time state subsidy for STT.

“The Ministry of Transport and Communications is proposing EUR 1.05 million to support STT. The purpose is that STT can continue its operations with the support. The condition is that the company and its owners commit to rapidly developing STT’s operations,” says the Minister of Transport and Communications Lulu Wrist (ps) in the bulletin.

CEO of STT Kimmo Laaksonen according to the aim is to secure competitiveness by looking for new sources of income and increasing efficiency.

“The preparation of state aid of 1.05 million euros announced by LVM today is really significant news in securing STT’s future,” says Laaksonen in the press release.

President of the Association of Journalists Marjaana Varmavuoren in my opinion, Finland needs permanent media support and media policy guidelines.

“The ever-narrowing contents and media field are not in anyone’s interest,” says Varmavuori in the press release of the Journalists’ Association.

The news media of STT’s main owner Sanoma Media Finland (SMF) Helsingin Sanomat, Ilta-Sanomat, Aamulehti and Satakunta Kansa Länsi-Suomi announced in September that they would significantly reduce or give up the use of STT’s news agency and image services. SMF has been STT’s biggest customer.