Espoo, Finland 04 September 2015 -- Metsä Wood, the wood products business of Metsä Group, will start statutory employee negotiations to adjust its production also at its pine sawmills in Finland. Oversupply and price competition that have prevailed in the sawn timber market have resulted in poor price development of Finnish sawn timber.

Metsä Wood is planning to lay off all of its employees at the Merikarvia, Kyrö and Lappeenranta sawmills for a maximum period of three weeks. The statutory employee negotiations are expected to be completed during September, and any restrictions will primarily be implemented by the end of November 2015.

Information concerning production curtailments on spruce sawmills was released earlier on August 20th 2015.

Metsä Group is a responsible forest industry group whose products' main raw material is wood from northern, sustainably managed forests. Metsä Group focuses on tissue and cooking papers, fresh forest fibre paperboards, pulp, wood products, and wood supply and forest services. Its high-quality products combine renewable raw materials, customer-orientation, sustainable development and innovation. Metsä Group's sales totalled EUR 5 billion in 2014, and it employs approximately 10,500 people. The Group operates in some 30 countries. Metsäliitto Cooperative is the parent company of Metsä Group and is owned by approximately 122,000 Finnish forest owners.

Metsä Wood provides competitive and environmentally friendly wood products for construction, industrial customers and distributor partners. We manufacture products from northern wood, a sustainable raw material of premium quality. Our sales in 2014 were EUR 0.9 billion, and we employ about 2,300 people. Metsä Wood is part of Metsä Group.