Swissprinters printing plant in Zofingen AG plans to cease operations
The Swissprinters printing plant in Zofingen AG is planning to cease operations at the end of September this year. The joint subsidiary of the Ringier and NZZ media companies currently employs 144 permanent staff.
The reason for the closure is the declining demand for print products, the loss of important orders and persistently high paper and energy prices, as the company announced on Monday.
Against this backdrop, economically stable future prospects are no longer guaranteed. Most recently, adjustments were made to the printing infrastructure in summer 2023 in response to the downward trend.
All employees would be affected by the closure. However, the definitive number of employees to be made redundant will not be known until the consultation process launched on Monday has been completed, according to the press release.
The employees would continue to be employed until the closure of the plant. Some of the job cuts could be absorbed by early retirement under the existing social plan.
Print jobs could go abroad
The company also wants to ensure that orders are fulfilled by the end of September. In addition, follow-up solutions for customer relationships are to be sought.
In addition to a national tender, an international tender is also being prepared for the Ringier and NZZ Group magazines. This is necessary because there will no longer be sufficient capacity for the production of magazines in Switzerland following the planned closure of Swissprinters.
"I very much regret the planned closure", Michael Ringier, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ringier, is quoted as saying in the press release. The media company can look back on 190 years of company history, which began with a print shop in Zofingen. The company still has its headquarters in Zofingen today and, according to its own information, employs 122 people at the site.
Swissprinters is owned by Ringier (70 percent) and NZZ (30 percent). The company prints magazines, brochures and catalogs. (SDA)