Veikkaus begins redundancy talks with 830 employees
Finland’s state-controlled gambling monopoly intends to make 200 redundancies.
Finland.- The state gambling monopoly Veikkaus has begun negotiating with 830 staff members as it seeks to make 200 redundancies to ensure the continuity of its operations.
Veikkaus said that as well as intending to make redundancies, the employment contracts of around 330 employees could undergo substantial changes.
Veikkaus had announced that redundancies would be necessary due to a decline in revenue, largely due to the closure of venues during the Covid-19 pandemic, but also as part of its own responsible gambling measures.
The largest proportion of the redundancies are expected to be made in the channels and sales team, but Veikkaus said some people may be relocated to new openings, such as the forthcoming Casino Tampere, where Veikkaus expects to employ 50 people.
Jari Heino, senior vice president for channels and sales, said: “Our future will be successful if we can adjust our operations to meet the demands of the operating environment while offering the players a responsible, high-quality customer experience.
“We will continue to maintain an extensive network of retailers and game providers, while making the operations of our gaming arcades more uniform. We also want to keep investing in our brick-and-mortar retail network and to work to preserve its vitality.”
This year, Veikkaus has introduced permanent online gambling loss limits – they had initially been introduced as a temporary measure due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It has also been reducing the number of slot machines it operates, and it made ID necessary for all slots as of last month.
Earlier this week, the minister for science and culture Antti Kurvinen proposed that Veikkaus revenues be transferred to Finland’s state budget to safeguard funding for charities as the operator’s revenue declines.
He said the distribution of Veikkaus revenues through the budget would make cash flows more predictable for beneficiaries.
