Hotel director Atle Hovi at Beitostølen Resort rejoices over the government’s wage support scheme.
– Now we can stay open this winter despite fewer guests, Hovi says to VG.
Beitostølen Resort is one of the country’s largest tourism destinations with year-round operations and 100 employees.
– There will be many other tasks we can do even with few guests. We will involve our employees in improving the company, developing new products and working on innovation.
– With tonight’s good news from the government, we can still keep the wheels in motion and thus emerge stronger from the pandemic.
– What would have been the consequence for you if this scheme had not come into place?
– Then we must have resorted to layoffs. That would be a great defeat. So much hung on this scheme, he says.
He praises the government, LO, NHO and Virke who together have contributed to the scheme that was presented by the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Trade and Industry at a press conference on Friday night.
– We have been excited to see the facility in the wage subsidy scheme and are very pleased that we can get up to 30,000 kroner in support to keep each employee working, Hovi says.
The hotel director says the tourism industry is now in challenging times.
– This is first and foremost a good news for our employees, who are our most important resources and who still have a safe workplace to go to, says Hovi.
–Not all reactions were equally positive after Minister of Finance Trygve Slagsvold Vedum and Minister of Trade and Industry Jan Christian Vestre presented the wage support scheme at a press conference Friday night.
The Conservative Party’s fiscal policy spokesperson Tina Bru is in doubt as to whether the government’s wage support scheme will work well enough.
– For some, this scheme will hopefully help in a difficult time, but for many, a rigid requirement that they must either lay off all or none, means mass layoffs.
–The situation many companies and employees are in now is quite despairing, says Tina Bru.
– The government has been behind in presenting specific economic measures. It’s good that they’ll finally get on the field, but we had expected them to stop treating this before Christmas. When the authorities introduce such strict rules that we deprive many of their livelihood, the state must also take good financial measures.
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