KBA sheds 700 jobs to aim for better perfomance

KBA is to cut almost 700 jobs with emphasis on its sheetfed offset division in response to the global economic crisis and a 40% slump in the world market volume.

The brunt of the staff reductions is to be borne by KBA's manufacturing plant in Radebeul near Dresden, Germany, which had 2,100 employees at the end of March.

Further measures have already begun to reduce the workforces at the company's foreign sheetfed offset locations as well.

KBA said that negotiations between the works council in Radebeul, the Dresden office of the trade union IG Metall and KBA management have produced a social welfare plan to balance the individual interests of the employees concerned.

The collective redundancies affect a total of 650 jobs.

Social hardships are to be avoided as far as possible, said the company, and the remaining jobs at Radebeul are to be safeguarded under a job guarantee scheme valid initially until 31 December 2011.

The company explained that it had set aside financial provision for these measures last year.

KBA believes that the significant savings achieved through the reductions in personnel and material costs will translate into sustained improvements in the divisional and group performance.

The measures are similarly expected to increase the present utilisation of the workforce, for which short-time working was introduced in November 2008.

Correspondingly, the company's board already announced an improvement of KBA's earnings for the current year compared to 2008.

The company's president and chief executive officer, Helge Hansen, said: 'We are not responsible for the financial and economic crises, but like many other export-oriented companies, we are suffering its consequences.

This applies in particular to our sheetfed offset division.

Adjustments such as those at Radebeul are always very painful, not only for those directly affected, but also for their remaining colleagues, and indeed for every responsible manager.

But there was unfortunately no alternative to safeguard the majority of jobs.

He continued: 'We must come to terms with a smaller market volume in the foreseeable future.

The restructuring permits us to improve our competitiveness, without compromising our strength and flexibility and we are well-equipped for the difficult economic situation.

We have no net debts, an above-average equity ratio and liquidity is assured.

The realignment is heading us in the right direction.

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