Big companies drop Christmas parties over coronavirus fears

Novo Nordisk, DSB and Danfoss are among the big hitters to cut out the Christimas fun for their employees this year

Yesterday, it was revealed that the immensely popular J-Day (J-Dag) party is taking a break this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Today, it has surfaced that a number of big Danish companies are shelving their annual Christmas parties.

Among the firms to axe their Christmas shenanigans are Novo Nordisk, Danfoss, DSB, DaneDanmark and Sydbank.

“We are part of the critical infrastructure and so we don’t think it’s too clever to gather so many people in one place given the coronavirus developments,” Tine Moe Svendsen, the head of HR with DSB, told Ekstra Bladet.

READ ALSO: Union Views: 5 hacks to survive the infamous Christmas staff party

Black Friday next?
Meanwhile, Pandora and Danske Bank are also mulling cancelling their Christmas parties, while Jysk plans to break its Christmas fun down into several smaller events. 

Another popular event that could see reduced action this year is the ‘Black Friday’ shopping mayhem day. 

The supermarket chain Rema 1000 has already announced it will drop the event this year.





  • How internationals can benefit from joining trade unions

    How internationals can benefit from joining trade unions

    Being part of a trade union is a long-established norm for Danes. But many internationals do not join unions – instead enduring workers’ rights violations. Find out how joining a union could benefit you, and how to go about it.

  • Internationals in Denmark rarely join a trade union

    Internationals in Denmark rarely join a trade union

    Internationals are overrepresented in the lowest-paid fields of agriculture, transport, cleaning, hotels and restaurants, and construction – industries that classically lack collective agreements. A new analysis from the Workers’ Union’s Business Council suggests that internationals rarely join trade unions – but if they did, it would generate better industry standards.

  • Novo Nordisk overtakes LEGO as the most desirable future workplace amongst university students

    Novo Nordisk overtakes LEGO as the most desirable future workplace amongst university students

    The numbers are especially striking amongst the 3,477 business and economics students polled, of whom 31 percent elected Novo Nordisk as their favorite, compared with 20 percent last year.