The company said the negotiations involve a total of 1,100 staff at the Joutseno, Kaskinen, Kemi, Kyro, Tampere, Simpele, and Äänekoski mills.

The possible layoffs would last a maximum of 90 days and could be implemented in several installments by the end of this year.

In a stock exchange release published yesterday (17 May), the business said change negotiations “will start in week 21, and they are estimated to last two weeks”.

“With the change negotiations, the company is preparing to adapt the production temporarily for low delivery volumes. The allocation and amount of layoffs will be specified during the rest of 2023.”

Metsä Board focuses on lightweight and high-quality folding boxboards, food service boards, and white kraftliners. In 2022 its sales totalled around €2.5bn (£2.17bn) and it has around 2,250 staff.

Separately, Metsä Board inaugurated its upgraded pulp mill in Husum, Sweden, on 3 May. The new recovery boiler and turbine at the mill started up at the end of 2022. The mill’s bio-based energy production will increase, and the mill integrate’s electricity self-sufficiency will amount to over 80%.

The total value of the investment was approximately €380m. In the second phase of the renewal, to be decided and implemented later in the decade, the two current fibre lines would be replaced with one new line.

An investment programme is also underway at the Husum mill to increase the annual production capacity of folding boxboard by around 200,000 tonnes. The investment is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Metsä Board, part of Metsä Group, is listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki.