Social plan for closure of NZZ printing plant in place
Following the announced closure of the NZZ printing plant in Schlieren ZH, the social partners have agreed on a social plan. This is intended to mitigate the economic consequences for the maximum 125 employees affected by the closure.
According to a press release issued on Friday, the redundancy plan includes support for the professional reorientation of affected employees. This includes a job center in Schlieren and contributions for training and further education. The social plan also provides for early retirement, severance pay and a fund for individual cases of hardship.
Representatives of the Schlieren Works Commission, the NZZ Personnel Commission, the Syndicom trade union and the NZZ Media Group were involved in the social plan negotiations. The plan signed on Thursday was achieved thanks to the "swift and consensual approach of all parties involved", according to a joint statement by the social partners.
Last November, NZZ announced the closure of the printing plant in mid-2015. After the Board of Directors and company management had examined alternative scenarios put forward by employee representatives, they announced the definitive decision to close the plant at the beginning of February.
According to NZZ, replacement investments in the double-digit million range would have been necessary for the printing center in Schlieren with 184 jobs. The company justified its decision by saying that this was not economically justifiable due to declining print runs and the erosion of margins on third-party orders.
The Neue Zürcher Zeitung and NZZ am Sonntag will be printed at the Zurich printing center of competitor Tamedia from the middle of the year. The NZZ Media Group's two printing plants in Winkeln SG and Adligenswil LU will continue to operate. (SDA)
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