Economy & Business

Ferry operator Eckerö Line is making up to 500 staff redundant. The majority of them are seafarers, according to the Seaman’s Union, and cuts will be felt for the crews of the M/s Eckerö and M/s Birka Stockholm in Åland…

The Ministry of Finance has released its economic review for 2019, and forecasts the economy will shrink by 5.5% this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. The ministry notes that the shift in fortunes for economies around the world because…

With restaurants closed, and foreign travel coming to a standstill, Finns flocked to Alko stores in March to stock up on alcohol even as the coronavirus restrictions started to kick-in. The state-owned monopoly reports that although the actual number of…

Two schemes to get people to sign up for seasonal agricultural work have attracted thousands of applicants. The seasonwork.fi website is run by the government with the backing of ministries and the European Union, while maatilalle.fi us run by a…

The CEO of the National Emergency Supply Agency NESA Tomi Lounema has resigned after a scandal involving millions of euros spent on masks from China, ordered through a company in Estonia, which was done without due diligence. Some 230,000…

Finland’s Minister of Finance Katri Kulmuni (Centre) has been burning the candle at both ends. A marathon 16-hour video conference at the start of the week with her EU colleagues was peppered by three one-hour naps; and then she went…

A debacle over face masks ordered from China which failed quality control tests, has highlighted the need for more reliable ways of getting protective equipment to Finland’s frontline medical staff. The multi-million euro deal was for 230,000 high grade surgical…

The Finnish Medicines Agency Fimea says it is preparing for any possible shortage of medicines used to treat patients in hospital with coronavirus symptoms. A letter sent last week from the EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakides…

Government ministers are meeting for two days of budget talks largely focused on how much to spend to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Arriving at the House of the Estate in Helsinki on Tuesday, Prime Minister Sanna Marin (SDP) said…

The Stockmann Group has filed paperwork with Helsinki District Court on Monday morning for corporate restructuring. It comes after the company says the coronavirus has caused a “significant impact on the company’s customer volumes and cash flow.” In a statement, Stockmann…