Jani Asunmaa, CEO of Mapon cut his own salary so that the company's employees do not suffer from the effects of the coronavirus (koronavirus, in Finnis) epidemic at work.
The company offers vehicle tracking services and digital work time tracking solutions.
Asunmaa said his salary has been cut completely in April, May and June. He earns about 20,000 euros per month.
Due to this and other actions, Mapon's international co-operation negotiations, which began on Monday last week, were suspended. The firm has 17 employees in Finland and around 450 worldwide.
Asunmaa talked to Ihtalehti and said, “No one will be laid off or salaries cut for the entire group.”
According to him, the aim of the negotiations was how to save approximately 100,000 euros for staff costs.
“We calculated that cutting my salary was almost enough. The crisis is deep and nobody knows what is going to happen. If this does not get much worse, I believe we will get things done” said Asunmaa.
Cutting Asunmaa’s salary for the company's employees in Finland can ensure peace of mind for three months. After that, the situation needs to be re-examined, but at the moment the CEO is confident.
Managers promise to clean their offices
He said, “We believe the sun is still rising. Yes, this is what we want to do in business, this is not charity.”
When the coronavirus situation became alarming, the company started looking for all possible savings. Asunmaa said that, for example, cleaning services have been abandoned and company executives and managers have promised to clean the offices themselves.
Asunmaa thinks this should be an example to state-owned firms’ top managers.
State Ownership and Steering Minister Tytti Tuppurainen was urging state-owned firms to exercise restraint in top management compensation during the coronavirus crisis.
According to Lännen Media group, Tuppurainen said that state firm bosses should set an example and display a general sense of fairness.
"When we make adjustments in a business it is right to my mind that management should also share the burden. In the current situation caused by coronavirus, I urge you to emphasize restraint and awareness of the crisis in compensating management," said Tuppurainen.
Posti pays bonuses for top managers
LM reported last Friday that the state-owned mail and logistics firm Posti had decided to pay top management a special double bonus. In practice, the bonus will range from a minimum of 12% of annual pay to maximum of 60%, LM wrote.
Tuppurainen did not comment directly on the decision, saying that the board of directors is responsible for specific company affairs.
Majority of state-owned firms such as national airline Finnair and rail company VR have announced temporary layoffs as a result of the pandemic. The minister said that the state owner is ready to adjust its dividend expectations in light of the changing situation.
Posti came under close scrutiny last autumn for a plan to transfer 700 workers to a new contract that would have slashed their pay by 30 to 50%.
