Finnish forest industry concern Metsä Group announced on Wednesday that it will cut 520 permanent positions and shed up to 440 jobs.
It said redundancy talks with employee representatives in Finland that began in October were now complete.
"The estimated need to reduce the number of permanent positions was 540. As a result of the statutory negotiations, 520 permanent positions will be terminated, with a maximum of 440 redundancies," a group press release published on Wednesday said.
Metsä Board, a listed company belonging to the group, will be responsible for 150 of the job cuts in Finland. However, plans are still being finalised.
"Outside Finland, statutory negotiations are still partly continuing," the group's release said.
During the redundancy talks, Metsä Board, which manufactures lightweight paperboard at various locations around Finland, agreed to possible furloughs in the future. If demand for paperboard does not rise, the furloughs will be carried out in stages.
The furloughs would last up to 90 days at its plants in Kemi, Kyrökoski, Simpele and Äänekoski. Meanwhile, while possible furloughs at the company's facilities in Kaskinen and Joutseno could be longer.
In July, the company announced a cost saving and profit improvement plan, with an aim to save 300 million euros. It said on Wednesday that the majority of the savings would be coming from external cost reductions.
"Metsä Group [also] aims for savings in fixed costs, which is why the Group announced on 2 October that it will launch statutory negotiations in its operating countries," the group said.
"This is a very sad moment for our entire committed work community. However, it is an indispensable part of the profit turnaround we are aiming for. Our operating environment has changed significantly, and the market situation continues to be very challenging," Metsä Group's President and CEO, Jussi Vanhanen, said in the release.
The group noted that it is offering employees support in adapting to the situation.
Metsä Group has some 9,600 employees worldwide, around 5,600 of them in Finland. It is owned by the Metsäliitto Cooperative, which in turn is owned by more than 90,000 forest owners.
