Norwegian Public Health Institute Faces cuts of over 100 full-time positions

Folkehelseinstituttet, the state agency tasked with producing and communicating public-health knowledge, reported a forthcoming loss of more than 100 full-time positions. The announcement was made during a Thursday all-hands meeting, where staff were briefed on a challenging financial outlook. The institute attributes the pressure to consecutive years of reduced funding, lower transfer amounts, expanded duties in health data, and an ineffective recruitment control.

Employees were told that immediate measures are required to meet the budgetary targets set for 2027. The agency previously offered exit packages to all staff in 2022 after a constrained national budget, but one outlet plan does not specify how the reductions will be implemented. Attempts to obtain comments from the institute’s leadership have not been successful.