Uponor concludes its co-determination negotiations in Finland – workforce reduction less than planned

Uponor Corporation                Stock exchange release         19 January 2016   13.00 EET

Uponor concludes its co-determination negotiations in Finland – workforce reduction less than planned

Uponor Corporation’s Finnish subsidiaries Uponor Infra Oy and Uponor Suomi Oy have today concluded the co-determination negotiations in Finland. As a result, a total of 126 employment contracts will be terminated, a clearly lower number than originally planned. The reductions should be made by September 2016 at the latest.

As announced on 26 November 2015, the transformation programme is intended to create annual savings of ca €5 million in the Uponor Infra segment. Uponor Infra Oy and Uponor Suomi Oy began co-determination negotiations with their Finland-based personnel, totalling 555 employees, on 26 November 2015. The purpose of the negotiations was to reduce overlaps and improve profitability in the weak domestic market environment.

Uponor Infra will now relocate all pressure pipe and standard chamber manufacturing operations from Vaasa to Nastola, Finland, by the end of 2016. A total of 93 jobs will be terminated in Vaasa while close to 30 new jobs, mainly in pipe manufacturing, will be opened in Nastola. In the same connection, custom chamber manufacturing will move from Vaasa to Tuusula, Finland. This will take place in stages during 2016. It is estimated that 10 new jobs will be opened in Tuusula. In the first instance, any new jobs will be offered to those employees whose jobs were terminated.

Uponor Suomi, which is part of the Building Solutions – Europe segment, will transfer the Ecoflex pipe production from Nastola to Virsbo, Sweden by the end of February 2016. Combined with several other initiatives, the changes in Uponor Suomi will mean a total reduction of 33 employees.

Uponor Infra Oy is owned by Uponor Corporation (55.3%) and KWH Group (44.7%). Uponor Suomi Oy is wholly owned subsidiary of Uponor Corporation.

Uponor will make every effort to support the affected employees in relocating and by offering them training to help them seek employment. 

For more information, please contact:
Riitta Palomäki, CFO
Tel: +358 (0) 20 129 2822

Uponor Corporation

Tarmo Anttila
Vice President, Communications
Tel. +358 (0) 20 129 2852 

 

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Uponor is a leading international systems and solutions provider for safe drinking water delivery, energy-efficient radiant heating and cooling and reliable infrastructure. The company serves a variety of building markets including residential, commercial, industrial and civil engineering. Uponor employs about 3,800 employees in 30 countries, mainly in Europe and North America. In 2014, Uponor's net sales exceeded €1 billion. Uponor is based in Finland and listed on Nasdaq Helsinki. www.uponor.com