Zehnder Print closes newspaper printing plant in Rickenbach

Four part-time employees have reached retirement age. Another 14 part-time employees are being supported in finding a solution outside the company. Publishing and advertising sales at nine locations in German-speaking Switzerland and commercial printing in Wil with a total of 230 employees are not affected by the changes.

Nasty market environment

The newspaper printing industry is experiencing overcapacity. Market prices are under strong pressure. In addition to existing printing orders from Swiss media, Zehnder Print has also printed well-known English-language newspapers such as the International New York Times and The Wall Street Journal on a contract basis. Under the impact of the overvalued Swiss franc compared to the euro, the clients have moved the printing of these publications to northern Italy. Due to falling market prices and insufficient utilization of production capacity, primarily on the night shift, the printing center in Rickenbach TG will no longer be able to cover its costs in the near future.

Job guarantee for all full-time employees

40 employees of Zehnder Print in Rickenbach are affected by the discontinuation of newspaper printing. They were informed personally by the owner couple last Tuesday. 22 employees, including two apprentices, were offered guaranteed follow-up solutions. Another apprentice will finish his apprenticeship at Zehnder Print. The seven full-time employees in the Administration and Technology departments will continue to be employed by Zehnder Print until further notice. Their employment guarantee ends at the end of June 2017. The management is relieved to have found a solution with Swiss partners for rotary printing. This will allow jobs to be retained and secured in Switzerland in the long term. The job guarantee means that the employee will be offered a job internally or externally that is at least as well remunerated as the previous one.

Part-time employees: Layoffs not ruled out

With regard to the 18 part-time employees, four of whom have reached retirement age, redundancies cannot be ruled out. The employees who are still of active working age will receive comprehensive support from Zehnder Group's HR department in their job search. If, due to the discontinuation of production in Rickenbach TG, layoffs for part-time employees become unavoidable, those affected will be paid three months' wages beyond any termination date without a follow-up solution. Employees of retirement age who do not continue to work for the company will receive one month's salary beyond the date on which they leave the company. As required by law, those affected were also invited to comment on the planned measures in a consultation process and to submit suggestions on how terminations could be avoided or their consequences mitigated. The contract with DZZ will not come into force if better solutions emerge from this consultation process and are accepted by the Board of Directors of Zehnder Print.

Customer orders seamlessly continued

With the closure of the rotary printing facility in Rickenbach TG, the long-established printing company from eastern Switzerland is giving up newspaper printing in its own production. However, the cooperation with DZZ will improve the service for Zehnder Print's newspaper printing customers, as the company emphasizes in a statement: The facilities in Zurich offer the possibility of producing multi-page newspapers and create more flexibility in page jumps (two instead of four). 

A review is currently underway to determine whether the successful commercial printing operation, which is suffering from a shortage of space in Wil, should be relocated to Rickenbach. If this review is negative, the production buildings and parts of the facilities in Rickenbach TG will be up for sale.