Finnish state child welfare institutions to lay off and furlough staff

Finnish state-run child welfare institutions will lay off nine employees and temporarily furlough 27 others following recent restructuring negotiations, national broadcaster Yle reports.

The layoffs will primarily affect staff deemed legally unqualified for their roles due to insufficient education, according to Kaisa Tammi, director of the state child welfare units. The furloughs will mainly target school attendance counsellors and some management, as their core duties are reduced during the summer months.

Negotiations initially threatened up to 35 job losses, but Tammi described the final outcome as “much more positive,” noting that employee representatives shared this view.

Five of the state’s six child welfare units were involved in the talks, with the Hämeenlinna Prison family unit exempt. The Liminka unit will avoid layoffs entirely. The agency had sought €700,000 in savings this year, driven by rising costs—particularly rents, which surged nearly 120 percent between 2021 and 2028.

Further cost-cutting measures include increasing remote training to reduce travel expenses, while planned staff training has already been scaled back.