HELSINKI, April 21, 2010 (AFP) - Workers at Finnish forest industry group UPM-Kymmene's Kymi plant in southeastern Finland walked off the job Wednesday to protest job cuts announced last week, bringing machines to a halt.

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"At six o'clock this morning the plant was shut down," Eija Tuominen, the plant's human resources manager told AFP, adding that workers had said they would return to work by May 3 at the latest.

UPM, the world's largest magazine paper maker, said last week it would cut 117 jobs at the pulp and paper mill in Kymi, some 140 kilometres (90 miles) from Helsinki, in a bid to boost its competitiveness.

According to UPM's website, the plant has production capacity for 850,000 tonnes of paper and 540,000 tonnes of pulp, and employs around 700 people.

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Last Updated (Wednesday, 21 April 2010 15:48)

 
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