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Unemployment

Government ministers pledge to help laid-off Microsoft workers

Minister of Economic Affairs Olli Rehn and Minister of Justice and Labour Jari Lindström said that the government would help the 1,350 workers in Finland who are scheduled to be laid off by the computing giant Microsoft.

Oikeus- ja työministeri Jari Lindström sekä elinkeinoministeri Olli Rehn tiistain budjettineuvotteluissa.
Oikeus- ja työministeri Jari Lindström sekä elinkeinoministeri Olli Rehn tiistain budjettineuvotteluissa. Image: Yle

On Wednesday the US-based Microsoft Corporation announced it was shutting down its mobile device research and development operations in Finland, incurring the loss of some 1,350 jobs nationally.

In a joint statement Rehn and Lindström characterised the situation as "extremely difficult."

"In just a few years, thousands of workers in the information and communications technology sector have lost their jobs," the ministers stated.

The layoffs are expected to hit especially hard workers in the cities of Tampere and Espoo.

"Those of us at the Ministry of Employment and the Economy are prepared to support employment in several different ways. Support will also be sought from the EU's Globalisation Adjustment Fund," the ministers stated.