Helsinki, Finland, 16 December 2010 -- Metso has concluded employee negotiations concerning all personnel groups at its plant in Juankoski, Finland, as of 16 December 2010. In response to economic and production conditions, the company initially said it needed to reduce the number of personnel at the plant by a maximum of 25 persons.

The negotiation proposal was given to employee groups on 20 October 2010. In the negotiations, the number of personnel reduction was set at 12. In addition, temporary lay-offs may occur at the Juankoski plant if the production load weakens from the present situation. Possible temporary lay-offs will be executed by the end of 2011. The amount of personnel at the Juankoski plant is about 260.

With the above measures the operations at Juankoski plant will be adjusted to the present production and financial situation. In addition to personnel reductions and possible temporary lay-offs, operations will be made more efficient and cost efficiency will be improved through other measures to secure competitiveness and operations in the future. These measures include increasing plant personnel skills and job rotation, changing shift work systems, and possible outsourcing of some operations during 2011.

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 about 27,000 employees in more than 50 countries.