Stora Enso closing Summa and Kemijärvi mills at brisk pace

Paperworkers Union threatens strike action over closures

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Stora Enso plans to implement the closure of the Kemijärvi pulp mill in Finnish Lapland and the Summa paper mill in Hamina on the south coast according to a very rapid schedule.
      The company announced on Thursday morning that Summa would shut down in about two weeks - at the end of January. The exact date of the closure is not being revealed.
      The Kemijärvi pulp mill will stay open until the end of April.
     
During co-determination talks with personnel, which have now concluded, the number of jobs to be cut declined by just over 100 people to 985.
      Of those to leave, 170 were working on fixed-term contracts, and 255 have access to various pension arrangements. The company says that the remaining 560 will have access to retraining and job placement services.
      At the Summa paper mill, 450 workers are to be made redundant. "Orders that have been made will be finished, but after that, continuing the operations of the factory is not economically viable", said Stora Enso's business operations' manager Juha Vanhainen in Hamina on Thursday.
      Workers at the factory were informed of the result of the co-determination talks at nine in the morning. Vanhainen described the atmosphere as serious. "Nevertheless, the personnel received the information calmly."
     
Stora Enso's answer to the appeals by workers at the Kemijärvi pulp mill and by the movement that has sprung up to protect the major source of livelihood in the region was a cold one: the factory will not be sold to another entrepreneur. Instead, it will be closed down permanently. The company said that the move was necessary to secure sufficient wood supplies for the Veitsiluoto and Oulu factories, which are part of the concern.
      The Finnish Ruukki Group has made an offer for the Kemijärvi plant. A number of investment groups are also interested in both the Kemijärvi and Summa mills.
     
Kemijärvi residents have collected statements from experts who insist that there is enough wood in the area to keep the Kemijärvi pulp mill running.
      Stora Enso also refused to consider proposals to turn the Kemijärvi mill into a production facility for biodiesel or ethanol fuel.
      The reason given for closing down the Summa paper mill was that long-term profitability forecasts looked weak.
      "In spite of the efforts of employees, the mill cannot compete in the future by using expensive wood raw material, of which a significant proportion is imported", the company stated.
     
Stora Enso CEO Jouko Karvinen said that the company would double its EUR 5 million support package for the creation of new jobs. The state has already announced that it will support employment to the tune of EUR 15 million.
      The company has hired a consultant to look into the feasibility of various activities at the buildings currently housing the installations that are to be shut down.
      Karvinen says that new business should be found for the business premises of Kemijärvi and Summa that did not compete with the critical demand for and availability of wood.
      "Some of the proposals in the discussion are based on the use of forests in the east of Finnish Lapland, and they also support the acquisition of fibre wood by Stora Enso", Karvinen noted.
      The option based on the use of the forests would mean, for instance, mechanical refining of wood from stronger grades of wood. The harvesting of these trees would also yield grades of wood suitable for pulp production.
     
On Thursday Stora Enso also reviewed other plans for cutbacks in its production.
      One paper machine is to be shut down at the Anjala paper mill in Anjalankoski in November this year, leading to a reduction of 170 jobs. A further 122 people are to be cut from the common services in the Kymenlaakso area in the southeast, and 29 are to be let go at the Helsinki offices.
      Stora Enso is looking for a new owner for its Kotka factory producing laminate and special paper. The Norrsundet pulp mill in Sweden is to be closed at the end of this year.
     
The Finnish Paperworkers Union said on Thursday that it is ready to take industrial action to save the Kemijärvi and Summa factories.
      At a meeting in Kemijärvi on Thursday, the union's executive committee discussed a possible strike, but no decisions were made.
      "We will use all necessary means to get things working right - that is, that the operations at Kemijärvi and Summa will continue", said Union President Jouko Ahonen.
      The union criticised the government for not using its influence as part owner of Stora Enso to influence the decision. The state holds about one third of the company's voting shares.
      "In telecommunications companies, state ownership has been used in smaller matters than this. The government has the responsibility to see to it that a company in which the state has a significant holding will not cause a major regional increase in unemployment", Ahonen said.
     
Office employees at all of the factories at Stora Enso walked off their jobs on Thursday.
      The 1,200 white-collar workers say that the action will end on Saturday.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Vanhanen makes no new promises on Kemijärvi pulp mill (11.1.2008)
  Forestry centres: wood shortage no reason to close down Kemijärvi mill (9.1.2007)
  Protesters in Kemijärvi occupy pulp mill slated for closure (4.1.2008)
  Ruukki Group offers to buy Kemijärvi pulp mill (21.12.2007)
  Stora Enso to shut down two factories in Finland and one in Sweden - 1,400 jobs to go (25.10.2007)

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