Atria is seeking to boost profits by centralising pork production at its plant in the Finnish town of Nurmo, rather than at a site further east in Jyvaskyla, in a move the company hopes will save EUR1.2m (US$1.4m) annually.

The restructuring project aims to increase productivity and would be initiated from June 2018, the Helsinki-listed firm said in a statement today (24 August). Negotiations with staff at the Jyvaskyla facility are already underway as the plan my involve a reduction in what the company called “some 25 man-years”.

Atria acquired the Jyvaskyla facility as part of its takeover of Saarioinen’s procurement, slaughtering and cutting businesses for beef, pork and chicken in February 2014. The following year it initiated job cuts at a chicken production plant in Sahalahti, Finland, which was also acquired as part of the same takeover and was aimed and boosting efficiency.

The company posted a 7% increase in sales to EUR701m for the first half of the year, helped by acquisitions in Finland and Sweden.