Central Finland welfare region launches talks that may cut 110 jobs

The Central Finland welfare region Soite will begin cooperative negotiations covering its entire staff in August, aiming for annual savings of up to €11 million, the public broadcaster Yle reports.

The talks may lead to the elimination of 110 positions, with measures including redundancies, layoffs, or part-time arrangements. Management will also review whether to reduce leadership and specialist roles across all sectors.

Final decisions will be presented to the regional board on 21 September. Chair Sari Innanen (Centre Party) said the timeline ensures negotiations can start immediately after the summer holidays.

In elderly services, one or two round-the-clock care units may close or shift to less costly models. Open services for the elderly and disabled will be centralised and scaled back, with a savings target of €3 million in 2026–2027 and a reduction of 30–40 full-time positions. This year’s budget is already projected to exceed by €3–4 million due to rising wage costs and increased demand, particularly in elderly care.

Hospital and emergency services face urgent cuts, with potential restructuring or elimination of roles to save €1.5–2 million annually, equivalent to 20–25 full-time positions. Additional savings of nearly €1 million are sought through new operating models and reduced outsourced services.

The social and healthcare centre (Sote) aims to cut 30 full-time positions, saving €1.5–2 million annually, and reduce outsourced services by €2 million, particularly in social welfare. Some home and institutional care services may end or shift to in-house production. Low-threshold meeting points and elderly health stations may also close.

Emergency services will reassess service levels to achieve €200,000 in permanent savings, potentially reducing up to two full-time positions. The Resource Centre under corporate services may cut up to 12 positions in text processing, secretarial services, translation, healthcare logistics, patient transport, and central storage.

These negotiations follow previous talks concluded in May, which resulted in 13–18 redundancies in corporate services, elderly, and disability services. Implementation of those cuts is underway alongside preparations for new savings.

Soite will receive €12 million less in state funding next year than estimated by the Ministry of Finance last autumn, with funding increasing by just 0.3% as costs rise. Welfare region director Mikko Komulainen stated that major savings can be achieved without compromising core services, but require significant commitment from managers, leaders, and decision-makers.