Paper Giant UPM Cuts 275 Jobs In Germany, Austria

HELSINKI, Nov 3, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 03rd Nov, 2016 ) - The world's leading magazine paper maker, Finnish UPM-Kymmene, announced Thursday 275 job losses in Germany and Austria, in further cuts to its European paper production hit by readers going digital.

The company plans to permanently shut down two of its European paper machines, one in Augsburg, Germany, where an estimated 150 jobs will disappear, and one in Steyrerm|hl, Austria, with 125 job losses.

UPM said the machines are to be closed after "the employee consultation processes", not stating when exactly. The decision follows a similar announcement by UPM two years ago, when it cut a total of 550 jobs at its newsprint facilities in France, Finland and Wales.

"The demand for.

.. (magazine) papers, in line with other graphic papers, has been declining during the last years and the decline is expected to continue," Executive Vice President Winfried Schaur, of UPM's graphic paper unit Paper ENA, said in a statement.

UPM expects to reach cost savings of about 30 million Euros ($33.3 million) with the shutdowns. Earlier this year UPM announced the sales of its paper unit in Schwedt, Germany, for 70 million euros, to German Leipa Georg Leinfeilder which is to convert the mill into liner production.

The sale was reflected in UPM's third quarter results announced last week, with roughly a 30-percent drop in its net profit of 268 million euros ($297 million). UPM employs around 19,600 persons worldwide.