In the future Heidelberg will focus on its core market of sheetfed offset "and its related value chain".
Chief executive Bernhard Schreier said: "Heidelberg will continue to provide products for premium quality print results. Our target markets will mainly be commercial printers, focusing on short and medium print runs as well as packaging and label printing."
Heidelberg's existing divisional structure will be streamlined into a "leaner" functional organisation, and this will see a further 1,000 jobs will go worldwide. Heidelberg will also incur restructuring costs of Euro400m. The job losses will be in addition to any transfer of employees through the divestment of other divisions.
It is too early to say how the UK will be affected.
Wolfgang Pfizenmaier (head of digital) and Holger Reichardt (sales, marketing and service) will resign from the management board, which is also being "scaled down".
Schreier will take on responsibility for sales and service, as well as R&D and operations.
Few further details were available apart from Heidelberg's official statement. Spokesman Hans-Dieter Siegfried said: "We are still in talks with a number of partners, including Goss, but also and number of others about web finishing, inserting systems and digital. All the areas connected to web and digital are being looked at.
A decision will be reached by the end of Heidelberg's financial year, next March.
Christian Knapp, managing director of KBA UK, commented: "In my view it shows that the state of the industry is still difficult. I also dont think that the market accepted the idea of Heidelberg being the total solutions provider".
Key points of Heidelberg's "new alignment"
