Production at UPM's Voikkaa Paper Mill and Kymi PM 7 Ended

Helsinki, Finland, 24 July 2006 –- UPM's Voikkaa paper mill and Kymi paper machine No. 7 were closed down in June and July and they will not be restarted again. All customer orders and products were successfully transferred to other UPM production lines during spring and summer this year. Salary payments for Voikkaa employees will continue until December 2006.

UPM's "From Job to Job" redeployment and employee support program, created to minimize the impact of redundancy, has had a successful launch. Around 200 employees have already taken up relocation or will be reemployed within the near future.

To date, 50 employees have found new positions within UPM and around 60 employees will continue to work at Voikkaa until the end of 2007, dismantling paper machines and taking care of Voikkaa premises. Additionally, UPM estimates that there will be approximately 50-100 vacancies in the company's Wood Products division's units within a year.

Approximately 30 former Voikkaa employees have found employment outside UPM. Additionally, the contract signed with Empower, a company offering forest industry maintenance services, ensures that at least 50 UPM employees will take up positions in its Voikkaa unit by end of August. During autumn 2006 Empower will increase the number of unit employees, subject to new contracts.

A survey of UPM's Voikkaa employees has indicated that around 100 staff would consider job change and relocation. The survey additionally highlighted that almost 200 of UPM Voikkaa staff are interested in retraining. UPM's "From Job to Job" program will offer financial support for retraining and relocation of the employees affected by the closures.