In return as part of this special regulation the employees who are covered by the collective agreement in Würzburg and Radebeul are protected from dismissal until June 30 2015.
With immediate effect the collective special regulations – which were agreed by KBA, employee representatives and representatives from IG Metall – will come into place at the main plants in Würzburg and Radebeul.
Introduced to alleviate fluctuations in capacity utilisation, KBA says the amendments also serve to improve the profitability of the core sheetfed and web press business.
The amendments to the wage agreements will be in place until the end of 2014 and contain, among other things, the removal of hours from flexitime accounts without adjusting wages, as well as a reduction in the weekly regular working times with corresponding adjustments to wages and salary. The actual weekly amount of hours worked can vary considerably depending on the volume of orders and operational capacity.
Along with significant cost savings the KBA management board expects that the agreed regulations resulting from intensive talks with employees and representatives from the trade union will bring increased flexibility combating seasonal or regional fluctuations in demand. The management board views this constructive contribution by the workforce as a further important part in stabilising the earnings of the company’s traditional sheetfed and web printing press business.
The management board and non-tariff professional and managerial staff will also be subject to the savings to the same degree.
KBA has shed a quarter of its workforce since the beginning of the GFC in 2008, it is now 6,300, and will reduce further to less than 6,000 with retirements and movements of the next year.
The company says that thanks to its realignment which began early enough and its strong position in niche markets, such as metal decorating, industrial coding and security printing, the KBA group has consistently achieved positive pre-tax earnings since 2009. It is now the world’s second biggest press manufacturer after Heidelberg, and is the market leader in key niche sectors of packaging, metal decorating and security.
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