Koskisen is considering cutting or substantially changing up to 40 positions in Finland as it seeks to improve profitability following a period of investment in sawmilling and panel production. The Finnish wood-products group is facing higher production costs while some of its new equipment has yet to deliver the expected efficiency gains.<\/p>\n
The company announced on November 10 that it would begin employee negotiations covering approximately 800 people in Finland. The discussions will address possible redundancies, permanent changes to roles and temporary layoffs, with completion targeted by the end of 2026. Measures could extend across several group functions. Koskisen has not announced a financial savings target or a breakdown of the positions potentially affected.<\/p>\n
The restructuring follows a widening gap between sales growth and earnings. In the first half of 2026, group revenue increased by 19% to \u20ac209.4 million, but adjusted EBITDA fell to \u20ac14 million from \u20ac19.8 million a year earlier. The adjusted EBITDA margin narrowed to 6.7%, compared with 11.2%.<\/p>\n
Sawmilling accounted for much of the increase in activity. Deliveries of sawn timber and processed products reached 281,200 m\u00b3 in January\u2013June, up 42.6%, while the division\u2019s EBITDA fell to \u20ac4.5 million from \u20ac9.6 million. Higher raw-material and logistics costs, weaker by-product prices and subdued demand for construction-related processed products reduced the benefit of increased volumes. The comparison also includes the Iisveden Mets\u00e4 business acquired in June 2025.<\/p>\n
Chief executive Jukka Pahta attributed the proposed organisational changes to the difficult market environment and a substantial rise in the cost of key production inputs. The company\u2019s immediate priority is to obtain better returns from investments already made.<\/p>\n
At J\u00e4rvel\u00e4, new channel kilns commissioned in June increased drying capacity by approximately 15%. They were designed to remove a production bottleneck and support an increase in annual sawn timber output from around 400,000 m\u00b3 towards 450,000 m\u00b3. However, Koskisen reported in October that production per shift had improved only slightly during the third quarter and remained below target. A further stage of the dry-sorting line upgrade is scheduled for the shutdown around the turn of the year.<\/p>\n
The panel business is undergoing a similar adjustment after investment in automation and additional capacity. Its 2025\u20132027 programme targets an increase in plywood capacity from 65,000 m\u00b3 to 85,000 m\u00b3. A first phase costing approximately \u20ac12 million was completed in December 2025, followed by a second phase of around \u20ac7 million focused on veneer processing and production efficiency.<\/p>\n
Koskisen said in October that veneer-handling equipment installed during the summer shutdown had started up successfully. Earlier technology additions, however, were still affecting production volumes and costs. The panel management team had also been reduced, with Pahta temporarily leading the division while recruitment of a new director proceeded.<\/p>\n
Cost relief remained limited. In the same October update, Koskisen said wood harvesting and transport costs had risen by around 10% over the preceding year. Adhesive and coating prices remained above their year-earlier levels, while the company considered log prices too high relative to finished-product prices.<\/p>\n
For 2027, management expects to concentrate on smaller improvements to existing investments. The proposed workforce changes extend that shift from building capacity to improving the productivity of the operations already in place.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":100601,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5204],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100600","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n