Ahlstrom starts co-operation negotiations at Karhula and Mikkeli plants

Ahlstrom Corporation, a global high performance materials company, will start on September 1, 2011, co-operation negotiations with employee representatives at its Karhula and Mikkeli plants in Finland. The negotiations concern all personnel at the sites, with the aim of improving profitability of the units.

Ahlstrom manufactures glassfiber, specialty reinforcements and glassfiber tissue in Karhula and Mikkeli. Previous efficiency improvement measures implemented at the sites have not been sufficient. Profitability has weakened as competition, particularly in glassfiber markets and specialty reinforcements used by the wind energy industry, has intensified significantly. In addition, the company has not been able to fully compensate for the increased raw material and energy costs by higher selling prices.

The plants in Karhula and Mikkeli are part of Ahlstrom's Building and Energy Business Area. The Karhula plant employs 267 permanent employees, of whom 190 are blue-collar and 77 white-collar. The Mikkeli plant employs 135 permanent employees, of whom 97 are blue-collar and 38 white-collar. In case the negotiations lead to personnel reductions, Ahlstrom estimates a maximum of 230 persons to be impacted. Temporary layoffs are also discussed in the negotiations.