Plans regarding HKScan’s Group-wide new operating model and related partial organizational change will be reviewed in statutory negotiations in Finland and Sweden.
The plans related to the new operating model cover HKScan’s personnel in all operating countries, excluding ‘blue-collar’ employees. The planned operating model renewal would mainly target changes in the ‘white-collar’ employee reporting lines, which is not expected to have a major impact on the group’s number of employees or employment terms. It is estimated that the planned operating model renewal can possibly lead to headcount reductions or material changes in employment contracts only in Finland.
HKScan CEO Tero Hemmilä explained the review of the company’s operations. “The planned operating model renewal will play a key role in the three-year turnaround programme launched last spring and in implementing the new strategy currently under development. The goal of the operating model renewal is to strengthen the company’s market area-level profit responsibility and management. We are also pursuing clearer ways of working and a strong customer- and consumer-driven way of operating. According to the plan, the Group-level synergies will be leveraged also in the future.”
Employee numbers review
The business is also assessing the need to boost its operational efficiency in Finland, with measures planned including employee lay-offs.
The planned operating model renewal and the efficiency measures are preliminarily estimated to lead to the termination of maximum 25 employment contracts. It is estimated that the changes will mainly target Rauma poultry plant’s ‘white-collar’ workers.
HKScan is also reviewing the possibility of adjustments in the number of ‘white-collar’ and ‘blue-collar’ employees in the Outokumpu and Paimio sites through temporary layoffs next year.
The company’s expects to make the decisions and to implement the possible measures immediately upon conclusion of the statutory negotiations, but by the end of 2019 at the latest.