Kumppanuustalo operator Artteli to lay off all 11 staff amid STEA grant uncertainty

Artteli has dismissed staff funded by STEA on economic and production grounds and will not renew fixed-term contracts when they expire, YLE reports. The association depends heavily on STEA support. This year it received €389,000 in state grants. Executive director Nina Lindberg warns that if next year's grant is zero, Artteli's operations will end, at least in their current form.

Artteli operates the Kumppanuustalo community house in Amuri and provides OLKA services with the Pirkanmaa wellbeing area in hospitals. It also offers free clothes, supplies and a meeting place for people experiencing homelessness, those with mental health or substance use problems, and lonely older residents.

The board described the layoffs as a precautionary step and is preparing grant applications for 2024. It has discussed the situation with the Pirkanmaa wellbeing area and Tampere city.

Demand for the centre has grown and staff morale is low, Lindberg said. "The mood is heavy. Knowing that we do meaningful and important work, this feels really contradictory and awful."

Several other Finnish third-sector organisations announced similar layoffs earlier this year amid STEA funding uncertainty. The decision follows a recent Tampere disability group's warning of possible job losses after a STEA grant cut.