TALLINN - The Finnish hamburger chain Hesburger, which operates 17 restaurants in Estonia and Latvia, has cited the region's current labor shortage as the major crimp on its ambitious expansion plans in the Baltics. "It's a complex situation, it is very difficult to find workers in Latvia and Estonia," Heikki Salmela, owner of the fast food chain, was quoted by the Finnish business daily Kauppalehti as saying.
The words echo increasing concerns among the region's top employers, all of whom are complaining about an enormous labor deficit in the three countries.
And it appears it is only going to worsen.
Salmela predicted that restaurant wages in Estonia would converge with Finland in five years. "You have to pay more than the competition," the restaurant owner said, adding that the Finns should no longer fear that Estonia was going to take their jobs.
The owner added that other Finnish retail outlets operating in the Baltic states had similar problems.
Hesburger's marketing director for the Baltic states announced its Latvian expansion plans on Sept. 18. "We want to open 30-40 restaurants in Latvia's biggest cities, but it will take up to 15 years," Ieva Palkavniece said.
The company has a total of six restaurants in Riga, one in Iecava, and has plans to open an outlet in Ainazi by the end of this year. They plan to open two or three new restaurants next year. Hesburger also has plans to open restaurants in Ventspils, Jelgava, and Cesis.
Citing labor shortages as a challenge, Palkavniece also admitted that purchasing property is the largest hurdle to opening new outlets.
"Instead of renting, we want to buy land and construct new buildings. But quite often it is either impossible to find an appropriate location or the land is too expensive," Palkavniece added.
Founded in 1991, the Finnish fast food chain has 200 restaurants in Finland and the Baltic states. The chain employs roughly 4,000 people, and has plans to expand to Hungary and Poland in the near future. Hesburger is currently building a 2 million-euro warehouse in Tallinn.
