UPM Shuttering Paper Mill, Costing Nearly 400 Jobs
HELSINKI, FINLAND—UPM will permanently cease production at the Myllykoski paper mill by the end of this year. The mill produces coated and uncoated magazine paper. Total production capacity of its three lines is 600,000 tons.
The company and its employees were unable to establish a way to meet the commercial requirements for continuation of operations at the mill during employee negotiations. In addition, the manufacturer is cutting down its overlapping operations in paper sales, the supply chain and its functions in Finland.
The personnel reductions will affect 371 people at the Myllykoski paper mill and 21 people at Myllykoski Corp. and Myllykoski Sales Nordic. Personnel reductions will start next January.
During the negotiations, issues such as pension schemes, relocations within the company, retraining and ways to alleviate the effects of redundancies were discussed. UPM will implement a program— called “From Job to Job”—to support its employees during the transition.
“The Myllykoski mill has been making a loss for several years despite numerous measures aimed at making the operations more efficient. The mill’s cost competitiveness is weak. The high costs of raw materials and energy have further increased total costs and permanently damaged the mill’s opportunities to reach a profitable level,” stated Jyrki Ovaska, president, Paper Business Group.