UPM prepares for temporary lay-offs in its birch plywood mills in Finland later this year - The company will start co-determination negotiations at Keuruu Veneer Mill

(UPM, Lahti, August 15, 2007 at 13:00) - The co-determination negotiations at   
UPM's birch plywood mills in Finland have been completed. The company will      
reduce its production of birch plywood for the remainder of this year. Owing to 
the bad harvesting weather conditions last winter the units were not able to get
enough birch logs in storage for the autumn.                                    

The reduction will mainly be carried out by cutting down on the number of       
weekend production runs, by employees taking time off for extra hours worked and
additional statutory days off and by moving up the winter holidays. In addition,
the mills are preparing for possible temporary lay-offs later on in the autumn, 
ranging in duration from 1 to 3 weeks. The exact need for temporary lay-offs in 
each mill will become clearer once the autumn's raw material situation is       
finally known.                                                                  

Co-determination negotiations will also be initiated at Keuruu Mill, which      
produces birch face veneer and thin veneer plywood. UPM plans to concentrate its
birch face veneer production in Finland at Lohja Veneer Mill. As regards thin   
veneer plywood, the company is considering either selling or closing down the   
operations. Keuruu Mill personnel can, when necessary, transfer to Lohja or the 
other plywood mills. UPM will support relocation to the Group's other units.    

Keuruu Mill employs approximately 70 people. Some 80% of the mill's production  
is veneer and 20% thin veneer plywood. Besides Keuruu and Lohja, birch veneer is
also manufactured at UPM's Chudovo Mill in Russia. The annual capacity of the   
three mills amounts to some 20,000 cubic metres of birch veneer, approximately a
quarter of which is manufactured at Keuruu.                                     

For further information, please contact:                                        
Mr Kari Hyvönen, Vice President, Operations, UPM Plywood, tel. +358 (0)400 258
293