Stora Enso to permanently close Veitsiluoto sawmill – around 60 jobs affected

Stora Enso has completed negotiations on the permanent closure of its Veitsiluoto sawmill in Kemi, Finland. Production will be centralised at the company’s other sawmills in Northern Finland, resulting in approximately 60 redundancies. According to Stora Enso, the closure will have only a minor impact on its wood supply and consumption in Northern Finland.

Aerial view of Stora Enso’s Veitsiluoto sawmill site in Kemi, Finland. — Stora Enso will permanently close its Veitsiluoto sawmill in Kemi, Finland. The decision will result in approximately 60 redundancies, while the impact on the company’s wood supply and consumption in Northern Finland is expected to remain minor.

Stora Enso announced in August that it was planning to permanently discontinue production at the Veitsiluoto sawmill and centralise its Northern Finland sawmill production at other sites.

According to the company, the change is aimed at improving the efficiency, profitability and competitiveness of its sawmill operations in Northern Finland. The profitability of the sawmill business is expected to remain challenging, partly due to the high cost of logs.

Production at the Veitsiluoto sawmill has been temporarily curtailed since early August and will now be discontinued permanently.

“The decision to close Veitsiluoto sawmill was difficult. I want to emphasize that the Veitsiluoto team has done excellent work, especially in safety,” says Matti Lielahti, Head of Stora Enso Business Unit Oulu.

Stora Enso says it will work with its other sites, the employment area of Sea Lapland and other stakeholders to support employees in finding new jobs. Measures include relocation services, re-employment coaching and support for employees wishing to transfer to another Stora Enso location.

Minor impact on wood supply

According to Stora Enso, the closure of the Veitsiluoto sawmill will have only a minor impact on the company’s wood supply and consumption in Northern Finland.

The company says there will continue to be demand for high-quality logs at its Oulu, Oulainen and Kalajoki sawmills, while chips and pulpwood are used at the Oulu board mill.

Following the closure, Stora Enso’s Business Unit Oulu will employ approximately 840 people at the Oulu board mill, the sawmills in Oulu, Oulainen and Kalajoki, and in port operations.