SEPTEMBER 16, 2013 — STX Finland is to shutter its Rauma Shipyard by the end of next summer. Its functions will be shifted the larger Turku Shipyard in a restructuring that will involve the entire company and its personnel in both Turku and Rauma. The company says that the two shipyards will be "reducing their workforce by about 700 person-years by the end of June 2014," which Finnish press reports are interpreting as a roundabout way of saying that 700 jobs will be eliminated.

The company says that STX Finland is pursuing negotiations with personnel on how the restructuring is to be implemented, what its impact will be on the various personnel groups and what the timetable will be. The company will be offering concrete support and employment measures for employees to be laid off as a result of the restructuring; these measures will be planned in cooperation with the employment authorities.

The company says "the anticipated volume of future demand is not enough to sustain two shipyards at STX Finland. The Turku Shipyard is able to build all types of vessels. The restructuring will not limit the company’s offering or reduce the volume of its operations."
 
“The decisions made now are based on a realistic estimate of the company’s current state and the market outlook,” says Jari Anttila, EVP & Deputy CEO of STX Finland. "They will halt the company’s vicious circle of losses, now in its sixth year, and lay the foundation for a profitable business."

“We regret having to make such tough decisions that will hit the Rauma Shipyard especially hard. But the alternative would have been the shutting down of the Finnish shipyard industry and the ending of our 300-year heritage of shipbuilding. These decisions will enable a healthy and profitable shipyard industry to flourish in Finland,” says Jari Anttila, EVP & Deputy CEO of STX Finland.
 
The board of STX Finland made the decision on the restructuring yesterday, Sunday September 15, 2013. The company said that the decision was unanimous and has the support of the principal shareholder.