Kemira will start co-determination negotiations in Finland, which will affect all employees working at the sites in Helsinki, Espoo, Oulu, Sastamala, Kuusankoski, Joutseno, Vaasa and Harjavalta. The invitation to the negotiations was given to the employee representatives on August 6.At the end of June Kemira had 5,181 employees from which 1,259 were located in Finland. "The number of employees affected by the possible personnel reduction has now been specified, and the measures related to the program may affect approximately 260 employees' work in Finland. During the negotiations we will examine internal transfers, retirement arrangements and outsourcing. Although we are not planning to close our sites in Finland, the possibility of some direct layoffs cannot unfortunately be ruled out. Our aim is to complete the negotiations within six weeks," said Jukka Oinonen, Vice President, Human Resources, Finland.The cost savings target with the planned "Fit for Growth" program is 60 million Euros on an annualized basis once the program is fully implemented. Non-recurring charges related to the program are estimated to be around 85 million Euros. These charges are expected to be accounted for within the next four quarters.Organizational restructuring also affects Kemira's sites outside Finland, and the negotiations in the sites affected by the possible personnel reductions will proceed in each country according to the local legislation. Kemira has operations in around 40 countries.