Metsä Group plans to further centralise its finance operations

Metsä Group Press Release 15 February 2012


Metsä Group plans to establish a new finance service centre in the Gdansk area in Poland, and to transfer transactional finance work from several European locations to the new service centre.

"Further development of the Financial Shared Services concept would improve standardisation, compliance, cost-effectiveness and productivity of Metsä Group's finance operations. More streamlined finance operations support the competitiveness of Group's business areas in the future," says Vesa-Pekka Takala, Chief Financial Officer, Metsä Group.

The planned operating model change would mean a reduction of about 130 jobs in the present service centres and other finance organisations around Europe. About 100 new jobs would be created in Poland. The most significant personnel impacts would relate to the Finnish shared service operations, which currently employ approximately 50 persons, mainly in Espoo and Tampere.

The statutory labour negotiations with employee representatives will commence according to each country's practice. The first decisions are expected to be made in April 2012.


METSÄ GROUP
Group Communications

For further information, please contact:
Veli-Pekka Takala, CFO, Metsä Group, tel. +358 (0)10 465 4260
Kaisu Vaalto, Communications Manager, Metsä Group, Group Communications, tel. +358 (0)40 777 8922


www.metsagroup.com

Metsä Group is a responsible forest industry group whose products are part of people’s everyday life and promote sustainable well-being. Metsä Group produces high-quality products mainly from renewable Nordic wood. The Group’s business areas are tissue and cooking papers, board and paper, pulp, wood products as well as wood supply. Metsä Group’s sales totalled EUR 5.3 billion in 2011, and it employs approximately 12,500 people. The Group is present in some 30 countries.