Koenig & Bauer AG today announced plans to cut an additional €300 million in costs by 2013 “to counter falling sales and accelerate a return to profit.” Claiming to be the world’s third-largest printing-press maker, KBA is now seeking total cost cuts of €580 million, after originally announcing a 3-year target of cutting €280 million.
As a result of the new cuts, which will include some 300 more jobs, the company states that by mid-2010 its workforce will be at around 6,200. KBA reported a €87.1 million- loss in 2008.
”We must cut capacity,” commented CEO Helge Hansen, in a press release about the new cuts, adding, “It’s a tough business.” The company’s statement explained that “printing-press sales are falling as Internet publications squeeze Western demand for newspapers and magazine.”
KBA also pointed to its strong growth in the Asian market, as Hansen said the company is now considering opening up a manufacturing plant in the region’s largest country. “China and the other emerging countries bring in volume, but not necessarily profit,” said Hansen. “They help retain jobs, but they don’t help in terms of a positive balance.”
KBA forecasts a 35 percent sales drop this year, when compared with 2007 levels. “There’s no going back to the old levels,” said Hansen.
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