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Shock in Ettringen: UPM closes traditional factory and lays off 235 employees!
235 jobs will be lost due to the closure of the UPM paper factory in Ettringen. Discussion about severance payments and economic consequences.
Shock in Ettringen: UPM closes traditional factory and lays off 235 employees!
In a sad chapter for the region's workers, industry giant UPM announced today that it will close its Ettringen factory after more than 125 years of production history. This means the loss of 235 jobs, which represents an enormous economic loss in the small community with its 3,500 residents.
The decision to close is related to the decline in demand for graphic papers, a trend that has been reinforced by advancing digitalization. While graphic paper production in Germany fell from 8.6 million tonnes in 2015 to just 4.1 million tonnes in 2024, UPM still managed to make a remarkable profit of 463 million euros last year. This raises questions, especially regarding severance offers, which many employees find unfair. They are suing for higher severance payments because they are perceived as poor compared to other locations.
Unfair severance payments?
The IG BCE union has sharply criticized the low severance pay offers of only half a month's salary per year of employment. Many former workers remember previous factory closures in which social cushioning was much more generous. UPM, on the other hand, defends the severance payments as “market standard” and emphasizes that it has the responsibility for the 5,000 other employees in mind. The company has also created new apprenticeships and over 200 open positions in the region, which could perhaps offer some of the laid-off employees a new perspective.
Mayor Robert Sturm expresses his regret about the decision and emphasizes that a third of the workforce in Ettringen is affected by the closure. A legal dispute over severance pay is currently underway at the Munich State Labor Court, and many are curious to see how this verdict will turn out.
At such a moment, when the upheavals in the industry are becoming noticeable, there is hope that the municipality of Ettringen will quickly find a solution to overcome this crisis. The economic wheel must continue to run and the responsibility towards employees must not be lost sight of. A slow decline in the industry, exacerbated by digitalization, requires not only entrepreneurial skills, but also an open ear for the people behind production.
For more information about UPM and its locations, interested parties can visit the UPM website: RPM.