The management and employees have signed an agreement committing themselves to a target programme which, when implemented, will improve the productivity of the company's industrial processes by about 20 per cent.

A key part of the agreement is to develop cost-competitiveness at the company's Finnish production plants.

HK Ruokatalo will bring some of its outsourced production – in particular pork cutting – back in-house.

HK Ruokatalo will be streamlining the company and discussing the future of the Säkylä and Mellilä plants with the staff.

The new productivity programme will see a cut in out-sourced and contracted operations amounting to 230 man-years by the end of 2011.

The productivity programme aims to reduce overall expenditure by €12 million a year. Of the annual cost benefits €6 million will be achieved during 2011. The additional expenditure of €3 million announced previously is not estimated to arise from the implementation of the programme.