Jyväskylä to initiate personnel negotiations amid financial challenges

The city of Jyväskylä plans to initiate cooperative negotiations concerning personnel, which may lead to layoffs. The negotiations arise from the city’s challenging financial situation, driven by production and economic factors. Discussions will be based on budget proposals submitted by various administrative sectors. An initial assessment indicates that approximately 265 individuals could face layoffs or reduced hours.

Included in the negotiations are changes to termination-related conditions, meaning that if an employee does not agree to significant alterations in their employment terms, their contract may be terminated. Employment services will not be part of these negotiations as they prepare for the TE reform scheduled to start on January 1.

As of the end of May, Jyväskylä employed a total of 3,776 permanent staff and officials, along with 1,266 temp and other fixed-term workers. The city council is set to decide on commencing the negotiations in a meeting on Monday. Jyväskylä is seeking to achieve savings of €7.7 million in its budget for the coming year. This need for savings is attributable to the increased social and healthcare costs incurred between 2021 and 2022, which will permanently reduce the city’s government subsidies in the subsequent years following the welfare reform.

The negotiations must occur prior to the city council presenting its budget proposal, which is scheduled for approval on November 25. The city last engaged in similar negotiations about a year ago.