Wärtsilä planning to discontinue production in Turku

The second part of Wärtsilä’s business analysis, started last autumn, has now been finalized. In addition to reductions in capacity already decided, the company also plans to discontinue engine manufacturing at its Turku factory and concentrate the production of large engines at its Trieste plant in Italy. Under this plan the Turku unit, which currently employs 680 people, will reduce its manning level by about 480 and concentrate on providing service and maintenance activities.

The Trieste factory, the group’s largest in size, is equipped to manufacture several different engine models and has already acted as a back-up manufacturing facility for the Wärtsilä 46 engine. Engines previously manufactured at Wärtsilä’s factory in the Netherlands were recently added to the Trieste Factory’s production programme. Production and R&D activities at Wärtsilä’s Vaasa factory in Finland will continue in their present form.

The business analysis will also result in personnel reductions totalling approximately 70 persons at Wärtsilä Propulsion sites in Norway and the Netherlands. Wärtsilä’s personnel totalled 12,100 at the end of 2003.