Under the restructuring, UPM would no longer employ its own forestry workers but would instead buy in services.
However, UPM wants to see its employees taken on by companies providing forestry work services, and this autumn will begin to look for prospective partners.
Around 300 forestry workers are currently employed by UPM in Finland and their tasks include cultivating the forest, tending seedlings and saplings and carrying out some measuring and planning work.
“Our objectives are to promote the full employment of forestry workers all year round, improve the attractiveness of forestry work and improve the availability of services,” said Sixten Sunabacka, vice-president, forestry and wood sourcing in Finland.
UPM has pledged to support its forestry workers who are willing to establish themselves as self-employed service providers.
Explaining the restructuring, UPM said that wood harvesting today is almost completely mechanised and that it purchases harvesting services from local contractors. Traditional manual logging is only required occasionally.
“As a result of this change in the forestry worker’s job profile, UPM can offer forestry workers less and less work in the wintertime, We have been compelled to lay off most of the forestry workers for longer periods in winter and have not been able to eliminate this problem through the introduction of flexible work time schedules, either,” said Sixten Sunabacka.
