UPM shelves mill lay-offs
22 February 2013UPM Plywood has cancelled plans for lay-offs at its birch plywood mills in Finland scheduled for the first half of the year.
The weak market for birch plywood and scarcity of logs from Russia led to successful negotiations with the workforce to introduce lay-offs of up to 90 days. The move could have affected up to 2,400 employees.
UPM mills in Savonlinna, Joensuu and Jyväskylä will not now go on short working, the company said.
"The birch plywood market situation and raw material availability have improved since the turn of the year and lay-offs have not been implemented in any of the mills. Lay-offs will not be needed during the spring either, so they will be cancelled in whole," a spokesperson said.
The company added that uncertainty in spruce plywood markets continued and lay-offs set for the Pelios mill in Ristiina near Mikkeli would remain on the table.
