Uponor announces more cost-reduction measures

has introduced new rationalization and cost-reduction measures, including the temporary layoff of all 360 employees at its Finland subsidiary, Uponor Suomi Oy, for a period of two months at most. Uponor says negotiations on temporary layoffs will take around six weeks, and the exact number and timing of the layoffs won’t be known until they’re completed. Stoppage could potentially be shorter than currently planned if cost savings are achieved through other means or if the market recovers.

Uponor has already carried out several similar measures in the first quarter at sites in Sweden, Spain, and Great Britain. In January, it cut 52 staff from its Virsbo, Sweden operation, with the company’s Swedish building solutions business also agreeing to temporary cuts in salaries and working hours for a 10-week period. An additional 19 persons were affected by staff reductions in Spain and Portugal. Uponor also recently announced the need to reduce a maximum of 19 staff at some point in April in Great Britain.

Uponor, which has 4100 employees globally, operates in more than 20 countries throughout the world. Products include plumbing, heating, and fire-safety systems for residential and commercial applications, including crosslinked polyethylene (PEX) tubing.
According to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ (RICS) European Housing Review 2009, the weakness in the residential housing market experienced by Uponor is likely to continue. The RICS review stated that, “The prospects for 2009 are of a further weakening of housing markets, price falls may accelerate in quite a few countries and become more apparent throughout the whole of Europe in 2009.” The report found that Spain’s housing starts are down by almost a half in June 2008, with private housing starts in England in the third quarter last year off 55%. —[email protected]