Finland’s Valio to close domestic plant amid falling sales

Finland-based dairy radical Valio plans to extremity accumulation astatine different section factory, citing declining volumes and accrued costs.

In a connection yesterday (18 May), the institution said it plans to signifier retired operations astatine the tract successful Oulu by the archetypal fractional of 2028.

Production volition displacement to different sites successful Riihimäki, Jyväskylä and Joensuu.

“With the planned transportation of Oulu factory’s production, we purpose to amended Valio’s accumulation efficiency, profitability and competitiveness,” Juha Penttilä, the enforcement vice president of operations of Valio, said.

The Oulu installation produces milk, fermented milk, crystal pick and plant-based semi-finished products.

Valio intends to support its organisation warehouse, income and enactment functions wrong Oulu.

The institution is acceptable to commencement talks with unit regarding the relocation connected 25 May, with discussions expected to span 3 weeks.

While the Oulu tract employs astir 300 people, the negotiations volition screen 264 employees.

Current estimates bespeak imaginable redundancies could interaction a maximum of 140 workers.

Valio has committed to offering “open positions” astatine its different facilities to affected workers.

Penttilä added: “Change negotiations involving imaginable redundancies are ever profoundly unfortunate and impact the full enactment community. We privation to behaviour these negotiations arsenic thoughtfully and responsibly arsenic possible, with radical astatine the centre.”

Valio has been consolidating its home manufacturing for the past 2 years.

In June past year, the institution announced plans to adjacent the Kauhava fava legume mill it bought from Raisio and determination accumulation different plant.

In October 2024, Valio said it volition unopen its Vantaa works and relocate operations to a installation further northbound successful Joensuu.

Earlier the aforesaid year, the institution announced plans to adjacent 2 nutrient and drinks manufacturing facilities successful Finland – 1 located successful the south-western coastal metropolis of Turku and the different successful the Pitäjänmäki territory adjacent Helsinki.

Valio has a full workforce of astir 4,600 people, with astir 4,000 based successful Finland. It operates nether a cooperative ownership operation held by astir 3,000 Finnish dairy farmers.

The dairy group’s full nett income for 2025 climbed 6.3% year-on-year to €2.42bn ($2.82bn). Domestic nett income accounted for €1.52bn of the total, portion planetary operations brought successful €900.7m.

The company's beverage borderline roseate 6.4% to €1.04bn successful 2025, portion its beverage instrumentality metric grew 7.3% to 56 cents per litre.

"Finland’s Valio to adjacent home works amid falling sales" was primitively created and published by Just Food, a GlobalData owned brand.