All 85 employees of KCI Konecranes’s motor manufacturing subsidiary in Hyvinkää, Finland face being laid off or redeployed elsewhere within the Konecranes organisation.

KCI Motors Oy, the motor manufacturing subsidiary has begun negotiations with employees on reorganisation proposals that are designed to increase efficiency of the company’s production of motors.

At the end of last year Konecranes closed down the KCI Motors plant in Tammisaari, where small electric motors were produced, and outsourced manufacturing. Putting all motor production out to contractors is now being considered.

In its statement announcing the review of operations at KCI Motors, Konecranes said: “KCI Konecranes subsidiary KCI Motors Oy has initiated labour negotiations with its personnel concerning measures to increase efficiency in motor production. The Group has previously announced efficiency increasing and rationalisation measures aimed at securing KCI Konecranes’ competitiveness in the future. These actions will now also apply to the Group’s own production of motors.

“In the negotiations the possibility of outsourcing the entire motor production is also being evaluated as an alternative to own production. At the end of 2003, the production of small electric motors at KCI Motors’ Tammisaari unit in Finland was outsourced to a long-term external cooperation partner.

“The efficiency increasing measures will entail personnel reductions. According to the current estimate the required personnel reductions are estimated to affect the entire personnel of KCI Motors Oy. Restructuring of the production will create new positions, which can be offered to part of the personnel of KCI Motors Oy. The possibilities of repositioning some of the personnel to other units within the Group are also being evaluated.”