N ORDIC C OUNTRIES September 2008 Nordic Countries Office Stockholm Västmannagatan 4 11124 Stockholm Tel. 004684546592 Fax: 004684546595 email: info@fesnord.se 4- 2008 Caravan capitalism in the North? – The Case of Stora Enso Dismissals in Finland by Antti Alaja The decision of Nokia to shut down its factory in the city of Bochum caused a wide­reaching political uproar in Germany last year. The concept of caravan capitalism, which was firstly used by the German minister of finance Peer Steinbrück, was consequently also used in the Finnish discussions. The German political protests encouraged thinking in Finland that maybe there are other possibilities than just adjusting to unfair decisions by the companies. In October 2007 the Finnish forest industry giant Stora Enso published its plans to shut down offices and factories in Finland and Sweden. This“case of Stora Enso” has ever since become a controversial and a symbolic theme in the political debates in Finland. A significant reason for this lies behind the fact that the Finnish state is the largest single owner of the company. In many European discourses the Nordic countries are often being portrayed as the winners of globalization, because of their ability to produce economic growth and do well in comparisons that measure economic and social development. The case of Stora Enso proves that globalization, understood here as opening international competition and accelerating industrial restructuring, should be considered to be a contradictory process even in a Nordic country like Finland. Stora Enso dismissals will have negative consequences to a balanced regional development. The limits of employees’ flexibility also limit the possibilities of active labour market policies. The discussion around Stora Enso has also raised the question of democracy. It has revealed a situation, where politicians avoid taking responsibility over economic matters that shape peoples lives. In October 2007 the Finnish-Swedish forest industry multinational Stora Enso published its plans to close down factories and offices in Finland and Sweden that would mean the loss of a total of 1400 jobs 1 . Ever since the Stora Enso 1 The Finnish Act on Coparticipation obliges companies to negotiate with the representatives of the personnel on redundancy notices. At Stora Enso these negotiations concluded in January 2008. Altogether 985 jobs will be lost in Finland. 450 in redundancy notices were made public, they have become a more and more controversial theme in the Finnish political debate. One significant underlying reason is that the Finnish state has the largest single stake in the company. To be more Summa, 214 in Kemijärvi and 170 in Anjala. The paper mill in Summa was already closed in the beginning of February and it is planned to close Kemijärvi mill in May. 1