Raute - Company Announcement

RAUTE CORPORATION'S EMPLOYEE NEGOTIATIONS CONCLUDED

RAUTE CORPORATION	   STOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE  18 November 2008 at 2.45 p.m.


RAUTE CORPORATION'S EMPLOYEE NEGOTIATIONS CONCLUDED                             

Negotiations at Raute Corporation in compliance with the Act on Co-operation on 
adjusting the company's operations to the lowered order book and the weakened   
market and demand situation, initiated on 29 October 2008, have been concluded. 

The decision means temporary lay-offs of fixed duration in Raute's Nastola and  
Jyväskylä units. The lay-offs will start in December and they are implemented as
temporary lay-offs of a maximum of 90 days. The lay-offs apply to Raute         
Corporation's entire personnel in Finland, a total of about 400 people.         
Additionally, the company will terminate a maximum of 9 salaried and senior 
salaried employees' employment contracts. These adjustment operations are made  
due to productional and financial reasons.                                      

RAUTE CORPORATION                                                               

Tapani Kiiski                                                                   
President and CEO                                                               


FURTHER INFORMATION:                                                            
Mr. Tapani Kiiski, President and CEO, Raute Corporation, tel. +358 3 829 3560,  
mobile +358 400 814 148                                                         
Ms. Arja Hakala, CFO, Raute Corporation,                                        
tel. +358 3 829 3293, mobile +358 400 710 387                                   

RAUTE IN BRIEF:                                                                 
Raute is a technology company serving the wood products industry worldwide. Its 
most important customers are the plywood and LVL industries. The company is one 
of the world's leading suppliers of mill-scale projects to these customer       
industries. The total service concept also includes technology services, with   
which Raute supports its customers throughout the entire life cycle of their    
investments. Raute's head office and main production plant are in Nastola,      
Finland. Its other production plants are in the Vancouver area of Canada, in the
Shanghai area of China, and in Jyväskylä and Kajaani, Finland. Net sales in 2007
were EUR 111 million and the number of personnel 570. More information on the   
company can be found at www.raute.com.                                          

DISTRIBUTION:                                                                   
NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd., main media, www.raute.com