Type
Internal restructuring
Country
Austria
Region
Ostösterreich; Wien;
Location of affected unit(s)
Vienna
Sector
Health / Social Work
Human Health Services And Activities
Human Health Activities
86.22 - Specialist medical practice activities

509 - 1,200 jobs
Number of planned job losses
Job loss
Announcement Date
14 March 2022
Employment effect (start)
22 April 2022
Foreseen end date

Description

Lifebrain, a laboratory that currently provides COVID-19 tests in Vienna, has registered the dismissal of 1,200 employees at the local employment office. The company analyses PCR-tests for COVID-19 infections and their lay out might be due to the fact that the costs were covered by the state until now, since the free tests were heavily used by citizens. However, recently the Austrian minister of finance decided to limit the free testing to vulnerable groups and the care sector. 

Update 28/3/2022: Lifebrain has decided to keep the employees for now. The company counts on another increase of testing in autmn and will try to keep its current staff all through the summer.

Update 22/4/2022: Lifebrain announced in a broadcast on the 22 April 2022 that it has decided to lay off 509 employees. The reason for this is the reduced number of COVID-19 tests.


Sources

Citation

Eurofound (2022), Lifebrain, Internal restructuring in Austria, factsheet number 106456, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/106456.