Press Maker manroland sheetfed to Shed 77 Jobs

OFFENBACH, GERMANY—manroland sheetfed, the German printing press builder, announced it has concluded negotiations with its workers council over the dismissal of 77 workers. The company announced its intentions in September 2012, and those dismissed will leave the company by Nov. 30.

As part of the negotiations, the dismissed employees have the opportunity of joining a government backed “transfer company” that provides 80 percent of their salary for up to 12 months and assistance finding alternative employment.

A spokesman for manroland said, “The heavy restructuring that took place in January was very much a rough cut. Since then, we have been fine-tuning our processes. Although it is unfortunate to have to let more people go, with these fine-tuning measures the business is now very efficiently structured and we do not anticipate making any further headcount reductions in the foreseeable future.”

The company also announced that it is closing its nearby Mainhausen factory, which carries out packing and final dispatch of it’s presses. The spokesman said the 2.9-hectare site will be sold for housing development in due course. Satellite offices in Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart and Leipzig were closed earlier this year.

Going forward, the manroland sheetfed group, which includes subsidiaries in more than 40 countries, will employ around 2,000 people worldwide, of which about 1,000 are in Germany, including 100-plus apprentices.