HELSINKI: Finnish stainless steel manufacturer Outokumpu said on Wednesday that it planned to cut 350 jobs as part of a global cost-cutting program. The cuts include 90 lost jobs in Finland and 80 in Sweden, the company said, but did not specify layoff figures in other countries. Outokumpu employs 8,100 people in in 34 countries.
"Outokumpu has been loss-making the past three years and we must improve our financial performance," Outokumpu's chief executive Mika Seitovirta said in a statement. Talks with unions will begin "immediately," company spokeswoman Paevi Lindqvist told AFP, adding that the company expects most of the layoff negotiations to be complete in the second quarter. The job cuts are aimed at white-collar and support staff instead of blue-collar production.
"In practice we're looking at the sales and marketing functions, and supply chain functions as well as support functions like IT, finance, HR and office workers at the headquarters," Lindqvist said. Outokumpu posted a fourth-quarter net loss of 91 million euros, which was twice as poor as analysts had been expecting. The company's continued poor showings prompted Outokumpu to oust its CEO Juha Rantanen in favour of Seitovirta in March.
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