What Swedavia's Redundancy Notice on 95 Positions Means for Its Head Office Staff

Swedavia, a state-owned airport company that runs ten Swedish airports, has given notice of planned redundancies affecting 95 positions, primarily at its head office in Stockholm, according to a company release dated 24 September 2026. In total, around 125 positions, including current vacancies, will be affected by a reorganisation that starts now and is expected to be finished by the end of the year. The chief executive said the change will also reduce the number of positions in its support functions. Under Swedish rules, receiving notice does not automatically mean you will be dismissed. For Metaintro readers, the public employment service's guidance, the Verksamt employer guidance and the company's job board show what happens next. Here is what the notice means, what the affected staff are entitled to and where the airport operator was hiring the day after the notice.

What Did Swedavia Announce, and Who Is Affected?

The company is reorganising to become more customer-focused and cost-efficient, with the stated aim of improving conditions for Swedish aviation. Its chief executive, Mats Johannesson, framed the change around developing Arlanda as an international hub while supporting a well-functioning airport network across the country. The change will involve reducing the number of positions within our support functions, in his words.

The numbers need careful reading. Around 125 positions, including current vacancies, will be affected in total, and the formal notice covers 95 of them. The release does not say how many of the remaining positions are vacancies or how they will be handled. The release gives no split of the notice by team or city beyond the word primarily.

On timing, the process of adapting the organisation begins immediately and is expected to be completed by the end of the year, and the airport operator says it will provide support to the employees affected. That end of year date refers to the reorganisation itself, and the company's release does not give a date on which any employment would end.

The owner matters here too. The business is a state-owned airport company, and its task from the Swedish State includes working on sound business principles and with long-term profitability.

Is a Swedish Varsel the Same as Being Laid Off?

No. The Swedish word for the notice is varsel, and the public employment service is plain about it. Receiving notice does not automatically mean you will be dismissed or become unemployed. During the notice period you might find a new job, or the situation at your workplace may change so that you get to keep your job.

An employer is obliged to give notice if at least five people in the same county are at risk of being dismissed, and the notification goes to both the union and the Swedish Public Employment Service, known as Arbetsförmedlingen in Swedish. The notification includes the reasons, when the reductions will occur and how many people will be affected.

The agency's employer fact sheet shows what the notice has to contain. It lists the reason for the planned redundancies, how many employees are expected to go and their occupational categories, and the date on which the first person concerned will leave their employment. A list of the people being made redundant and the minutes of the negotiations must follow no later than one month before the operational restrictions are implemented.

A Swedish redundancy notice does not automatically mean you will be dismissed, and during the notice period your situation can still change.

How Much Warning Must the Employer Give Before Jobs End?

The lead time grows with the number of people affected. For permanent staff, the fact sheet from the Swedish Public Employment Service sets these minimums before the first person's employment is terminated:

• Up to 25 people affected, at least two months
• 26 to 100 people affected, at least four months
• More than 100 people affected, at least six months

The duty itself is triggered county by county, when at least five employees in a county may lose their jobs. The airport operator's release does not break its notice down by county or give a termination date, so the public documents do not show which band applies. What the rule does tell staff is that even the smallest band requires notice at least two months before the first person's employment is terminated.

The agency has the right to file a lawsuit if an employer does not give notice in time, and the employer may then have to pay a special notice fine to the State, known as a varselavgift.

Staff should look up what applies to their own notice period, insurance and occupational pension, which is the first item on the agency's checklist for people who receive notice.

What Has to Happen Before Anyone Actually Loses Their Job?

Two steps come first. The first is negotiation. Because a termination for shortage of work is an important change, the employer must negotiate with the trade union under the Swedish Act on Employee Participation in Decision-Making, and the negotiations must have been concluded before the termination can take place. If the two sides cannot agree, the employer makes the final decision, according to the business portal Verksamt.

The union gets a lot of information in that process. The portal lists the reason for the terminations, the number of employees affected, which categories they belong to, when the employer intends to act and the method for calculating any compensation beyond what law or the collective agreement requires. An employee who wants to know where they stand should ask their union representative what has been shared.

At the end of 2025, 100 per cent of Swedavia's employees were covered by collective agreements. At the pay review on 1 August 2025, 54 per cent of all employees were members of a trade union with local representatives, and among permanent employees the share was 67 per cent. The company says these figures are not validated by any external party other than the auditor.

The second step is looking for another seat. Before terminating anyone for shortage of work, the employer needs to investigate the possibility of relocating them to a vacancy that needs filling, provided the employee has the qualifications for it. The employer must accept a certain training period but does not have to create a new position. That matters because the company's jobs portal listed 12 open roles the day after the announcement, as shown below.

Who Goes First, and Can You Be Rehired Later?

Sweden's default rule is seniority. Under the Employment Protection Act, known as LAS, the main rule is last in, first out. When two employees have the same length of service, age is the deciding factor, and older workers enjoy stronger protection. The employer draws up a priority list, and the employee's seniority sets their rank on it.

There are exceptions that staff should know. Most central collective agreements let the employer negotiate the order of priority with the local trade union, and an employer may exempt three employees of particular importance from the priority rules without explaining its choice. A termination that breaches the priority order may be declared invalid, and the person affected may be owed damages.

The right to come back is real but conditional. An employer that terminates staff for shortage of work must offer them re-employment if it needs to hire again, a right that applies during the notice period and for an additional nine months. The re-employment rules set these conditions:

• The person must have been employed for more than 12 months in total in the last three years, or at least six months in the last two years for seasonal employees.
• They must have registered interest in re-employment.
• They must have the right qualifications for the vacancy.
• The vacancy must be in the operational unit where they worked most recently.
• Declining a reasonable offer ends the right.

The employer has to tell staff about this right in the termination notice or no less than one month before the employment ends. If you are covered, registering your interest is one of the conditions for keeping the right.

How Big Is Swedavia, and Why Is It Cutting Now?

The group runs ten airports in Sweden, from Stockholm Arlanda and Göteborg Landvetter to Kiruna and Visby. In 2025 it had net revenue of SEK 6,801 million and a profit before tax of SEK 20 million, its first full year profit before tax since the pandemic.

Total air traffic grew by 2.4 per cent in 2025. More than 33 million passengers travelled via its ten airports in 2025, with international travel up 3.2 per cent while domestic travel stayed flat. In 2025 the company also decided to start detailed design work on a new pier, Pier G, as well as a new baggage handling system and expanded check-in capacity in Terminal 5.

The workforce is large. Its 2025 headcount was 3,677 employees in total, an average of 2,840 full-time equivalents, and 219 people in its Business Support units. In 2025, 250 employees left the company, for a staff turnover of 8.67 per cent.

The operator carried more than 33 million passengers through its airports in 2025, a year of rising international travel.

The company says the aim is a more customer-focused and cost-efficient organisation that improves conditions for Swedish aviation.

What Support Can Affected Staff Claim?

The first support is a transition organisation. If your employer has a collective agreement, you receive transition support through the transition organisation to which your employer is connected, and you can apply before your current job ends. Staff can find which transition organisation covers them with the lookup service listed by CSN, using Swedavia's organisation number, 556797-0818.

Study money is a second route. The national student finance agency CSN runs a transition scheme whose grant is 80 per cent of your salary, up to a maximum amount, plus an optional loan. It is available for 44 weeks, or longer if you study part time. Requirements include being between 27 and 63 years of age, having worked a total of 96 months over the past 14 years and having worked at least 12 of the last 24 months. If you are unsure which transition organisation you belong to, the CSN page suggests asking your manager or HR department, or contacting your trade union. For 2026, the maximum grant is SEK 5 773 per week before tax, and the grant is taxable and pensionable.

If the job does end, move fast. Register with the employment service on your first day of unemployment, which lets you apply to an unemployment insurance fund, or a-kassa, and protects your sickness benefit qualifying income with Försäkringskassan, the social insurance agency. The agency adds that when you are given notice, you do not need to contact it.

Severance pay is not required by law in Sweden. Compensation when a job ends is not statutory and is often based on a contract or agreement. If you do receive severance, your unemployment insurance fund will calculate the earliest date on which you can get benefits. Ask whether any severance is on offer. If you start looking for work, read up on taking a pay cut after a layoff before you weigh an offer.

Is Swedavia Still Hiring Anywhere?

Yes. The day after the announcement, the company's own jobs portal showed 12 open jobs, and many of them are airport operations roles rather than support functions. The list includes:

• A customer service worker for the contact centre at Stockholm Arlanda Airport
• A field technician at Göteborg Landvetter Airport
• A runway lighting technician at Åre Östersund Airport
• Ramp staff at Umeå Airport
• A security systems technician for the airport network
• An experienced analyst and a head of negotiations, both listed at Arlanda

The Arlanda contact centre role shows what one of these jobs asks for. The centre answers questions for all ten of the company's airports around the clock by phone, email, social media and chat, and it also runs the terminal announcements at Arlanda. The listing asks for fluent spoken and written Swedish and English, at least one year of customer service experience, the ability to reach the airport at any hour and the ability to work nights. The last day to apply is Sunday 11 October, selection is ongoing and the ad may close early.

There are extra checks. The airports are protected sites, so security vetting is part of the recruitment process, and the Arlanda posting adds work psychology tests and drug testing before employment. The careers page also describes seasonal hiring in summer and winter for roles such as terminal hosts, customer service staff and cleaners, with snow clearers needed mainly for the winter season.

For head office staff with transferable skills, these listings are worth a look. The employer's duty to consider relocation applies to vacancies that need filling, so an open role that matches your qualifications is exactly the kind of seat to raise with your union during the negotiations.

What This Means for Job Seekers, and What Should You Do Next?

The company carried more passengers in 2025 than the year before, and its jobs portal listed technician, ramp and customer service roles the day after the announcement. The chief executive said the change will also reduce the number of positions within its support functions.

Under Swedish rules, a termination for shortage of work must have nothing to do with the employee personally, so you can present it as a business decision when you interview next. For the staff covered by the notice, the Swedish rules require union negotiations to be concluded before any termination, so the notice is not a final decision. Here is what we would do:

• Read the notice as a start date for talks. Negotiations must be concluded before any termination, so ask your representative what has been shared on numbers, categories and compensation.
• Check your seniority and the priority list. Last in, first out is the default, but most central collective agreements let the employer negotiate the order locally.
• Ask about open roles now. The relocation duty covers vacancies, and the company's portal listed some the day after the announcement.
• Find your transition organisation. Ask HR or the union which one covers you and apply for support before your job ends.
• Plan for study, not just search. If you meet CSN's age and work requirements, including 96 months of work over the past 14 years, the transition grant can fund study in a new field.
• Register on day one if it comes to that. Registering on your first day of unemployment lets you apply to an a-kassa and keep your sickness benefit qualifying income.

For job seekers outside the company, Swedavia's portal listed ramp, passenger service and technical roles at several of its airports the day after the announcement.

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People Also Asked

Q: Does a Swedish varsel mean I have been laid off?

A: No, a varsel is an advance warning, and receiving notice does not automatically mean you will be dismissed or become unemployed, since you may find a new job or the situation at work may change during the notice period.

Q: How many Swedavia jobs are affected by the reorganisation?

A: Around 125 positions, including current vacancies, are affected, and the formal notice of planned redundancies covers 95 positions, primarily at the Stockholm head office.

Q: Can a Swedish worker be rehired after a redundancy?

A: Yes, a worker let go for shortage of work has a priority right to re-employment during the notice period and for an additional nine months, if they meet the service conditions and register their interest.

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