HELSINKI (AP) -- Finnish forest products company UPM-Kymmene Corp. said Tuesday it will lay off 830 people and close mills in Finland as it struggles to save costs.
The announcement came months after the world's biggest magazine paper maker announced major production cuts and warned that it will close plants and slash some 1,600 jobs worldwide during 2009 and 2010.
The latest measures are part of UPM's restructuring drive to improve the efficiency of its plywood sector and timber business, including a euro25 million ($36 million) investment in improving some mills in Finland.
The company said it will close four mills in Finland and that it is "prepared for temporary production curtailments" at all of its plywood mills and sawmills in the Nordic country in 2010.
"These decisions are regrettable and they affect many individuals. We intend to implement the restructuring in a professional manner and support employees in different ways to identify opportunities in the future," said Jussi Vanhanen, president of UPM's engineered materials group.
UPM said the restructuring costs for the fourth quarter of 2009 are estimated at some euro44 million.
Helsinki-based UPM-Kymmene, one of Europe's largest forest products companies, has 64 plants in 15 countries with 170 sales and distribution companies worldwide. It employs 24,000 people worldwide.
