The company said the move came at a time where press sales within the business are dropping in established industrial countries but dynamic growth is taking place in emerging markets.

Manroland confirmed that the basic structure of the business would remain unchanged, with its Augsburg and Offenbach facilities maintaining the production of press parts and assembly.

However, the manufacturer's Plauen site, which formerly handled business units for small format newspaper presses, will become a centre for mechanical production and module assembly.

In addition, the business units for small and large newspaper presses will be consolidated at the Augsburg site, which will also handle the central functions for the manroland group.

As a result, the company confirmed that 500 jobs would be cut, predominantly in the administration division, leading to a decrease to 6,000 by the close of 2012. The manufacturer said that it would make annual savings of €50m (£42.3m) from 2013.

Elsewhere, manroland claimed that its service offering, which includes its printservices business, now accounts of more than 30% of its business and is set to grow further.

As part of the transition, the company said it will focus on growth areas within its service offering with the formation of two new business sectors in industrial production and technical and industrial services.

Gerd Finkbeiner, chief executive of manroland, said the newly-implemented measures would enab;e the manufacturer to "actively respond to changing conditions and position ourselves for future growth".

He added: "These measures are oriented towards an order volume of 1.4bn euros in our core business, which is around 70 percent of the high of 2007.

"Greater integration of our business activities and implementation of consistent processes will make us leaner, more efficient, and more effective in the future."