Norway’s largest employers’ organization NHO is now doing what many of its member companies have done for years: cut costs by cutting back on staffing levels. By the time the cost-cutting is over, NHO will have around 250 fewer employees.
NHO is still seeing growth in its own membership, according to a spokesperson, but higher costs in recent years has prompted it to offer voluntary severance packages throughout the organization. That’s expected to trim the payroll both at headquarters in Oslo and in NHO’s regional offices.
Response to the severance offers, which basically pay people to quit, will determine whether additional and perhaps involuntary staff cuts will be necessary. NHO wants to cut around 10 percent of its personnel costs, which amounted to NOK 377 million last year. Objections rose immediately, with labour organizations representing workers claiming that NHO risks losing “valuable compentence” and putting a heavier workload on remaining employees.
NHO currently has around 33,000 member companies in Norway, serves as a national lobbying group on business, labour and taxation issues and also leads annual labour negotiations on behalf of its members with trade union confefederation LO as its main opponent.
NewsinEnglish.no staff
