Two leading paper companies in Finland, UPM-Kymmene and Stora Enso, announced large cutbacks today. UPM-Kymmene will lay off 1,600 workers and close several mills in Finland, Stora Enso will bid goodbye to 700 Finnish workers, 600 Germans and 400 Russians. The cuts come right on the tail of an earlier set of layoffs brought on by skyrocketing material costs and the global downturn. Many actually expected larger cuts. Finnish Union of Salaried Employees president Antti Rinne called it ?a black day for the Finnish forest industry? and demanded that the government step in to safeguard jobs. The two companies together employ 10% of the Finnish work force.
See "Finnish paper companies announce sweeping cuts", Associated Press, International Herald Tribune, September 9, 2008