Myllykoski Paper to start talks on cutting personnel

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The paper manufacturer Myllykoski Paper in Anjalankoski in the southeast of Finland announced on Wednesday that it would start talks with personnel later this month on the need for cob cuts at the Anjalankoski paper mill.
      Tuomo Tuomela, managing director of Myllykoski Paper, said that finances and production were the reasons for the needed personnel cuts. He would not say how many jobs were on the line.
      "According to the values and operating methods of the company, the matter will first be discussed with personnel", Tuomela says.
      Myllykoski head shop steward Timo Byman is also reluctant to discuss specific numbers of personnel. He said that extensive cuts and outsourcing are to be topics during the negotiations.
     
According to the factory's management, there have already been extensive discussions on job cuts within the company.
      Myllykoski has been seen as an industrial location that will be a crucial test of the issue of outsourcing, which has been one of the worst points of friction between the Forest Industries Federation and the Paperworkers' Union.
     
A month earlier, in nearby Kuusankoski, UPM said that it would shut down its Voikkaa paper mill in September this year.
      "We are trying to work so that we might continue. We are not talking about shutting down the mill, but we need to work together to get the cost structure and profitability of the unit to a level where we will survive in the future", Tuomela says.
     
Over 50 percent of Myllykoski Paper shares are held by the Björnberg family. The company is not listed on the stock exchange. The forest industry company M-real, which is part of the Metsäliitto Group, has a minority holding. Metsäliitto is responsible for procuring wood for Myllykoski Paper.
      Myllykoski Paper employs 800 people. The factory puts out 200,000 tonnes of coated, and 320,000 tonnes of uncoated magazine paper a year. The mill has three paper machines.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Paper mill closure major blow to Kuusankoski (10.3.2006)
  UPM´s Jussi Pesonen´s earnings rose massively last year (14.3.2006)
  State representatives to discuss job cuts with UPM management (10.3.2006)
  Paper manufacturer UPM cutting thousands of jobs in Finland (9.3.2006)

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