Finland’s Veikkaus gambling monopoly is negotiating layoffs with hundreds of staff as the pandemic’s latest wave shuts the company’s retail slots operations. 

On Friday, Veikkaus announced that it was launching ‘cooperation negotiations’ with its retail staff regarding “potential temporary layoffs, rather than permanent personnel cuts.” The layoffs would affect around 800 staff, many of whom could face an idle period of up to three months. 

The announcement comes following a series of alerts regarding the monopoly’s retail slot machine network as well as its own gambling halls. On Monday, Finnish medical authorities declared that pandemic infection rates in the Central Ostrobothnia region had entered an “accelerating phase,” leading Veikkaus to shut its local retail operations. 

On Wednesday, the same acceleration was detected in the regions of South Karelia and South Savo, leading Veikkaus to announce the immediate suspension of retail operations in the affected areas.