Aker Arctic Technology, a Finnish firm that won public procurement tender in Estonia for the design of a new icebreaker, requested 92 million kroons (5.9 million euros) for the project. "The offer price… covers the main design of the ship, preparation of public procurement tender documents for construction and project supervision during the construction," an official with the Maritime Administration said. A construction tender is planned to be announced in June 2008 at the latest, the official said. Maritime officials want to put the icebreaker into service by 2011.
Skype, the Internet telephony company, is laying off about 30 staff in London and Tallinn, according to Sten Tamkivi, head of Skype Eesti. "Dismissal is not quite the word. We're constantly regulating our organization. Last week, too, a minor restructuring took place," he said. Villu Arak, a public relations official, told the Baltic News Service that the company is also recruiting new staff. "This is not one-way traffic 's Skype is not in the midst of a wave of layoffs," he said. In his words, the company is looking for 45 new employees, 27 of which will be based in Tallinn. "The number changes constantly, but every week we take aboard some new employees," he added.
