Meat producer HKScan to renew operating model

Finland-based meat and food company HKScan has announced plans to renew its operating model across the group and focus on improving its operational efficiency.

Excluding blue-collar employees, the new operating model will cover HKScan’s personnel working at various locations across the globe.

The company noted that its planned operating model would primarily focus on the white-collar employee reporting lines, which is not expected to have a major impact on the group’s number of employees.

HKScan CEO Tero Hemmilä said: “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.”

The company noted that the new model and certain organisational changes will be reviewed in statutory negotiations in Finland and Sweden.

Implementation of the new model is not expected to result in headcount reduction in any of the company’s market areas outside the country.

HKScan’s measures to enhance the efficiency in its Finnish operations will focus on the number of employees and their employment terms.

Initially, it is estimated that the measures could lead to a maximum termination of 25 employment contracts. The changes will mainly target Rauma poultry plant’s white-collars, senior white-collars and management.

Additionally, the company is considering adjustments of white-collar and blue-collar employees at Outokumpu and Paimio units by initiating temporary layoffs next year.