State representatives to discuss job cuts with UPM management

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Representatives of the Finnish state are meeting the management of the pulp and paper manufacturer UPM to discuss the implications of the company's massive job cuts that were announced on Wednesday.
      A working group led by Anssi Paasivirta , a top official at the Ministry of Trade and industry, will hear from UPM details on how the cuts are to be implemented, and what the schedule will be.
      UPM said that it would be cutting nearly 3,000 jobs. The plans called for the closure of two mills and several production lines at other plants.
      Paasivirta's group will later hold discussions with the management of mobile telephone component manufacturer Foxconn, which recently announced that it was ending manufacturing in Finland, and would axe 400 jobs.
     
Trade and Industry Minister Mauri Pekkarinen said on Thursday that his ministry had asked all Employment and Economic Development Centres in Finland to present ideas by Monday on what kinds of measures could be taken in communities affected by the cuts.
      Pekkarinen also said that Paasivirta's working group is expected to offer proposals on what kind of national action might be taken - whether or not more money is needed, and how to act locally.
     
The issue was discussed for nearly an hour during question time in Parliament on Thursday. Parliamentarians from the southeast of Finland, where one of the factories that is to be shut down is located, were especially vocal on the issue.
      MP Valto Koski (SDP) from Kuusankoski, where the Voikkaa mill that faces closure is located, asked if any guarantees could be given to the employees, who had committed themselves to measures aimed at improving the company's finances.
      In response, Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre) said that the state is powerless to prevent such decisions.
      A similar question was asked by Kotka MP Pentti Tiusanen (Left Alliance), who suggested that as part-owner, the state should try to save the factories that are to be shut down. Pekkarinen responded, saying that the time for doing things like that is past in Finland.
     
Government ministers did not give details of possible state measures aimed at alleviating the impact of the closures. Vanhanen nevertheless gave assurances that there is enough money available.
      The Centre Party's parliamentary group called on the government to draft a special programme to benefit communities suffering from structural change. 


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Paper manufacturer UPM cutting thousands of jobs in Finland (9.3.2006)

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