The negotiations are related to the launch of the new production facility in Rauma. According to initial estimates, they will not concern a reduction in the permanent workforce.
As part of plans to launch a specialized poultry production facility in Rauma, HKScan is initiating statutory negotiations at its Eura plant. According to initial estimates, the negotiations will not concern headcount reductions among permanent employees, but would address the planned transfer of selected operations from Eura to Rauma and the possible reorganization of operations and related substantial impacts these plans may have on personnel, i.e. their location, role and responsibilities.
For the greater part, the statutory employee negotiations concerning these planned changes were already completed in the course of 2015. A second round of negotiations is now being initiated since the agenda, target group and anticipated impacts on personnel have been redefined in greater detail.
The updated agenda and planned changes currently concern the entire personnel at the Eura plant. Deviating from earlier estimates, the changes will not necessarily result in a headcount reduction of permanent employees. The negotiations will begin on Wednesday, 7.12.2016, and they are scheduled to run for roughly six weeks.
“I am pleased to announce that according to current forecasts, our permanent employees will not be subject to any headcount reductions. We and the personnel have together come up with good possible solutions for attaining our desired efficiency targets. Our preliminary plan is to initiate a comprehensive training scheme for the plant’s entire personnel at the beginning of next year. This training would be related to the introduction of new technology at Rauma and is a key priority in the start-up of the new plant. We are committed to upgrading the expertise of our personnel and updating their skill set and professional competency to enable the usage of state-of-the-art technology and planned new working methods, ” says COO Aki Laiho. “ According to current estimates, there will also be demand for temporary personnel until the end of next year, ” adds Laiho.
Construction of the new plant began at the start of the year. The project has progressed on schedule and it is due for completion at the end of 2017. The new technology will enable the development of innovative Kariniemen® poultry novelties for HKScan’s domestic and export markets. All acquisitions at the new plant will comply with the principles of HKScan’s Responsibility Programme and its targets for material, energy and environmental efficiency. For personnel, the sophisticated new processes will bring significant improvements in areas such as health and safety.
The new Rauma plant will specialize in the growing poultry segment and chicken products. It marks one of the most ambitious production investments in HKScan’s history and it will safeguard the long-term survival of food industry jobs in western Finland for many years to come. The investment is valued at over EUR 80 million. Upon completion the plant will provide jobs to roughly 300 blue-collar workers.
For further information:
Aki Laiho, COO, HKScan Group.
Kindly submit as call-back request via Marja Siltala, VP Communications, marja.siltala(at)hkscan.com, tel. +358 10 570 2290.
HKScan is the leading Nordic meat expert. We sell, market and produce high-quality, responsibly-produced pork, beef, poultry and lamb products, processed meats and convenience foods under strong brand names.
Our customers are the retail, food service, industrial and export sectors, and our home markets comprise Finland, Sweden, Denmark and the Baltics. We export to close to 50 countries. In 2015, HKScan had net sales of approximately EUR 1.9 billion and some 7 400 employees, making us one of the Europe’s leading meat companies. www.hkscan.com