Metsäliitto has shut down plywood production at Punkaharju and Suolahti in response to the ongoing Finnish stevedores’ strike.
The latest closures come as the Finnish Forest Industries Federation warned that the entire forest industry will soon be paralysed.
Other closures already announced include UPM’s Kaukas sawmill and two lines at its Pellos plywood plant.
More than half of all paper production capacity in Finland is on hold due to the industrial action started on March 4 by transport workers union AKT.
“There are now more forest industry employees out of work because of this industrial action than there are striking stevedores,” said FFIF director-general Timo Jaatinen.
“The strike’s multiplier effects extend to the entire value chain of the forest industry and our networked economy. It will take a long time to clean up the mess this strike is causing.”
