Aimed at strengthening the Finnish packaging and paper giant’s long-term competitiveness and creating a decentralised and more customer centric operating model, the company had said the actions would reduce its headcount by around 1,150 in total.
In its latest statement released today (4 September), the group said the parts of the change negotiations completed so far “will result in a reduction of 710 employees”.
It has concluded the change negotiations at its Sunila site and decided to permanently close pulp production and lignin extraction.
This site has an annual capacity of 375,000 tonnes of long-fibre and 50,000 tonnes of lignin. Production at the site has been at a standstill since May and will not be ramped up, with the closure impacting 240 employees.
As previously stated by Stora Enso, the pilot plant for bio-based battery material will continue its operations at the Sunila site.
During the third quarter, Stora Enso has also permanently closed down one of the four containerboard production lines at its Ostrołęka site in Poland. The line had an annual capacity of 120,000 tonnes of recycled containerboard and the closure impacts 50 staff locally.
In June, Stora Enso completed change negotiations in its Packaging Materials division with a reduction of around 250 positions in its management and support functions.
Additionally, the group has decided to permanently close its Näpi sawmill, which has an annual capacity of 50,000m3 of sawn timber, 180,000m3 of further processed wood products, and 25,000 tonnes of pellets. The closure will take place during the fourth quarter of 2023 and will directly impact around 90 employees in Estonia.
Stora Enso said it has also concluded change negotiations regarding a reduction of office employees within its group functions in Finland and, as a result, around 80 of these staff will be laid off. The negotiations in other countries are still ongoing and are expected to be concluded by the end of 2023.
The consultation with employee representation relating to the planned closure of the De Hoop containerboard site in the Netherlands, meanwhile, is ongoing and is expected to be concluded during the fourth quarter of 2023. The site has an annual capacity of 380,000 tonnes and employs 185 people.
The completed and ongoing restructuring actions would decrease Stora Enso’s annual sales by approximately €380m (£325m), based on the 2022 numbers. Operational EBIT is expected to improve by around €110m annually.
Stora Enso has recorded in its Q2 2023 results as an item affecting comparability approximately €140m non-cash asset impairments related to the planned closures and around €80m costs relating to the potential lay-offs and restructuring expenses, with cash outflows impacting future quarters.
In June, Stora Enso president and CEO Annica Bresky had said the “very difficult” measures would not be proposed “unless it was absolutely necessary for our long-term competitiveness”.
