Helsinki, Finland, 18 February 2009 -- Metso has concluded the employee negotiations initiated on 12 January 2009, regarding temporary lay-offs at their conveyor belt factory in Tampere, Finland. The measures are caused by the weakening of the global market situation, which has led to a decrease in the order backlog.

The temporary lay-off notice applied to 40 employees in production. In addition, one person was reduced.

The personnel negotiations were concluded on 16 February 2009. The temporary lay-offs will begin in early March. The duration of the lay-offs will be 24-26 days.

Metso (www.metso.com) is a global supplier of sustainable technology and services for mining, construction, power generation, automation, recycling and the pulp and paper industries. The company has 29,000 employees in more than 50 countries.