German press giant KBA will shed more than 200 jobs from its web offset workforce by November as the global contracting print market puts pressure on web sales.
The world’s second largest offset press manufacturer will chop its staff at two German web offset subsidiaries in half from 371 to 164, handing out 180 pink slips with another 28 leaving from natural attrition.
The company posted a solid quarterly sales increase in May, including a 41.4 per cent rise in web and special press sales, which now make up 39 per cent of business.
However, this only equated to a revenue increase of 2.4 per cent with the division losing €11.4m, while sheetfed turned a profit. KBA is now the world’s second biggest sheetfed manufacturer.
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KBA says there were ‘intensive efforts to generate additional orders’ but ‘as this volume was not sufficient and extensive capacity adjustments were also necessary at other KBA plants there was no other option but to sustainably improve the completely inadequate capacity utilisation in order for the business to operate cost efficiently.’
It says the new business model ‘will make the continuation of the KBA site in Frankenthal far more promising than ongoing underemployment with high losses’.
“Capacity utilisation is expected to be improved due to these personnel adjustments and the prolonged losses posted by the two subsidiaries should soon come to an end.”
The 180 to be made redundant will be gone by October 31 and will have the opportunity to qualify for a new position for one year at a transitional company from January 1, 2015.
The changes should have no impact on the KBA’s Australian business, which is profitable and delivered its best result in seven years last year, according to KBA Australia director Dave Lewis.
The web offset manufacturing market has been hammered since onset the GFC, with the USA, which used to be the world’s biggest buyer of commercial web presses, virtually stopping buying, and much of Europe following suit.
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