With staff talks ended, UPM-Kymmene has shut down 675,000 tonnes of publication paper capacity in Finland and the UK.

Paper machine 2 at UPM Kaukas, and machine 5 at Jämsänkoski (both in Finland) and machine 1 at Shotton in the UK are being permanently closed, with production ceasing by the end of March "at the latest", the company says.

The closures are part of a plan introduced last November to improve profits by 150 million Euros through variable and fixed cost savings.

Employee consultation processes on these were concluded in mid-January, and talks on closing machine 3 at UPM Chapelle in France - also announced in November - are proceeding. Jobs at Kaukas mill in Lappeenranta have been cut by 114, at Jämsä River Mills by 138, and at Shotton by 121.

All of the mills will continue to make paper on the remaining machines.
Coated and uncoated magazine paper capacity is being cut by approximately 460,000 tonnes and newsprint capacity by 215,000 tonnes.

Centralisation of supply chain operations in Europe and North America paper operations is continuing, and with planning and order fulfillment activities from Tampere in Finland and Altrincham in the UK moved to Augsburg and Dörpen in Germany, saving 48 jobs in Tampere and 11 in Altrincham.

Regional paper executive vice president Bernd Eikens says says the decisions are "unfortunate for the personnel involved, and the past months have been challenging for all of us.

"From the business point of view, the measures taken are necessary to improve our operating rates and profitability in the European paper business, which still suffers from overcapacity. By reducing capacity we ensure the efficient use of our remaining machines in Europe."