Ringier to close Winterthur printing plant in two years
Ringier took over the Winterthur printing plant (DW) and the prepress company ColorServ from the Basler Mediengruppe (BMG) on July 1, 2001.
Ringier has taken over the Winterthur printing plant (DW) and the prepress company ColorServ from the Basler Mediengruppe (BMG) as of July 1, 2001.Ringier will continue to operate the company under the previous management for a good two years. After that, print jobs will be carried out on the new web offset presses in Zofingen that were ordered two years ago.Ringier will not invest in Winterthur, according to Group spokesman Fridolin Luchsinger. The 380 jobs will be cut and 100 employees can continue to work in Zofingen. BMG will pay around CHF 10 million for cases of social hardship and early retirement. In return, the trade unions will refrain from strike action.
According to Luchsinger, Ringier's main aim in buying and closing DW is to reduce overcapacity in the Swiss printing sector. "It will also give us more printing orders," he said. DW prints sections of the Times, Newsweek and Economist, among others, and has an annual turnover of around 70 million Swiss francs. BMG wants to concentrate on its core business - the publication of print titles - but also needs the money to invest in its Basel printing plant and in the loss-making Weltwoche, as BMG CEO Beat Meyer confirmed. (mk)
According to Luchsinger, Ringier's main aim in buying and closing DW is to reduce overcapacity in the Swiss printing sector. "It will also give us more printing orders," he said. DW prints sections of the Times, Newsweek and Economist, among others, and has an annual turnover of around 70 million Swiss francs. BMG wants to concentrate on its core business - the publication of print titles - but also needs the money to invest in its Basel printing plant and in the loss-making Weltwoche, as BMG CEO Beat Meyer confirmed. (mk)
