Latest plans to reduce capacity and streamline UPM – which now calls itself a “material solutions company” – will impact the jobs of 462 people in four countries, and include the closure of its Ettringen paper mill.

The mill in Germany will close as Helsinki-headquartered parent UPM “continues to selectively align its paper capacity with profitable customer demand to ensure performance”.

If that goes ahead, annual capacity for uncoated mechanical paper will be cut by 270,000 tonnes during July 2025, with the loss of 235 jobs. Of the 462 total, 107 are in Finland, 314 in Germany, 34 in the UK and seven in the USA.

UPM Communication Papers executive vice president Gunnar Eberhardt said the company aimed to handle the restructuring measures in a socially responsible way.

“In a dynamically changing market that has been characterised by overcapacity for years, operational competitiveness is key to underpinning our long-term commitment to the still sizeable graphic paper markets and remaining the reliable partner our customers know us to be,” he said.

“With the plans announced today, we are continuing to selectively adjust our paper capacity to a profitable customer demand. This would ensure an efficient and flexible use of our remaining paper assets.”

Eberhardt says UPM also plans to discontinue its CEMS mill support team and streamline mill sourcing and RCP sourcing teams to realise “further benefits of a scalable and efficient sourcing organisation.

With “benchmarking and sharing best practices” across all it mills, UPM will streamline structures in its Augsburg, Schongau, Kaukas, Kymi, Rauma, Jämsänkoski, Blandin and Caledonian mills, with affected mills and functions will following up with their own implementation steps during 2025.

Restructuring charges of EUR 74 million are provided for in the first quarter of 2025, but would lead to annual savings of 39 million Euros a year.

UPM Ettringen (pictured) manufactures uncoated mechanical papers in South Germany, employing around 235 people. UPM Communication Papers is headquartered in Germany and now produces 4.3 million tonnes of graphic paper; it is part of UPM, which has annual sales of 10.3 billion Euros and is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki.