More than 40 per cent of the jobs at KBA’s two subsidiaries in Frankenthal, Germany, have been signed away following a new agreement with unions.

The press maker’s two operations at the site – Albert-Frankenthal and KBA-FT Engineering – have been suffering as a result of shrinkage in the market for web-offset presses.

At Albert-Frankenthal the payroll of 222 will be cut to 84, and at KBA-FT 149 cut to 80, with 28 of these leaving due to “natural fluctuations”. The company says with the new total of 164, capacity utilisation will be improved and prolonged losses should soon come to an end.

The 180 staff will be made redundant by October 31, with the opportunity to qualify for a new position for a year at a transitional company from the beginning of January. Severance pay is based on a collective wage agreement signed in 2011.

A statement says the KBA management board regrets the loss of jobs and refers to “intensive efforts” to generate additional orders for the Frankenthal facility.