Tractor manufacturer Valtra plans job cuts all over Europe

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Finnish tractor manufacturer Valtra announced new personnel arrangements both for the short and long term on Wednesday.
      The Valtra plant in Suolahti will be closed for two weeks, beginning at the end of September. One of the weeks will be without pay.
      Also, employer-employee negotiations concerning the company's entire European personnel will begin, with the aim of improving competitiveness. Valtra currently employs 1,260 people in Europe, 650 of whom work at Suolahti.
     
The Suolahti plant has operated since 1968. Chief shop steward Marko Puukari commented that the two-week closure did not come as a surprise, but the job cut negotiations did. "There is no reason for panic. Good tractors will be made here in the future as well", Puukari said.
      Pertti Haukkala, the director of the Suolahti plant, explained that one reason for the temporary closure is that the production process is faster than before. Last fall, customers needed to wait for up to 12 weeks to receive their tractors, now delivery times are as short as four weeks.
      According to Haukkala, Valtra's new owner, the American company Agco, did not dictate the decisions, but they were made by the operative management of Valtra. Haukkala emphasised that costs must be cut in order to improve Valtra's competitiveness and earnings.
      The possible job cuts can affect production, product development, sales, administration, and subsidiaries.
     
No changes to the production capacity of the Suolahti plant are in store. The factory produces around 10,000 tractors annually. There are seven main models, which are modified for each client according to their separate needs.
      The other European plants of Agco in France and Germany manufacture 28,000 tractors annually.
      The demand for agricultural tractors in Valtra's main market, Europe, has been stagnant of late. The production line of the Suolahti plant has not been used to full capacity. The uncertainty regarding reforms to EU agricultural policy, as well as poor harvests in 2003, are behind the slack demand.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  New owner promises bright future for Valtra; Finnish buyer group disappointed (11.9.2003)
  Kone agrees sale of Valtra tractor unit to US-based AGCO Corporation (10.9.2003)

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