Metso Paper warns of major layoffs in Jyväskylä

print this

Metso Paper, manufacturers of machines for the pulp, paper and board industry, warned on Tuesday that layoffs of the entire staff could be in prospect next year, for a period of between two and twelve weeks. The jobs warning involves all 1,700 employees working in Jyväskylä.
      The measure is a kind of overall preparation, within which decisions will be taken on concrete layoffs. The scale of these will be determined by the respective workloads of different departments and units.
      According to local manager Kari Kalliala, the warning is a means of adapting to fluctuating workloads and order books. "In fact it has been in effect before, and was in force for two and a half years up to June of this year, when we removed the threat owing to solid orders", he commented.
     
In the summer there was more than enough work to go around, as Metso Paper met a large PM order for a magazine paper mill in Sweden.
      Now it appears that the situation looks less positive, with a particular question-mark hanging over units manufacturing dryers for new paper machines.
      This derives from the fact that mills are upgrading their old lines, whereupon they generally need headboxes and forming and pressing components, but dryers are usually not replaced as a part of the package.
     
According to the chief shop steward in Jyväskylä, the latest plans have been drafted in collaboration with the workforce.
      The general mood is that layoffs, while they may be worrying, are a better alternative than making people redundant.
      This, too, could be in prospect: discussions are ongoing over the reduction of 110-140 jobs, in an attempt by the company to shave around EUR 50 million in fixed costs annually.


Links:
  Metso Paper
  Metso Corporation

Helsingin Sanomat