Itella workers plan to walk off the job at 4 PM on Wednesday afternoon.

The work stoppages will affect the sorting of all regular and package mail. Early morning newspaper deliveries will continue as normal.

The Finnish Post and Logistics Workers' Union criticises the government for calling on private sector firms to keep staff on during the economic crisis -- while state-owned companies cut jobs.

Itella: Job Cuts Necessary

Jukka Alho, CEO of postal operator Itella, says the company is in the process of adapting to structural changes.

“If we don’t reduce costs, we will lose a large share of our business to competitors," says Alho.

“Mail volumes have fallen. A large number of bills and banks statements are for example sent electronically these days.”