Heidelberg to axe 40 UK jobs

Heidelberg has announced it is to axe around 40 UK positions as part of a bid to reduce annual costs by nearly 160m by 2010/2011.

The jobs, which make up nearly 10% of its UK workforce, are in addition to the closure of its Leeds site, which resulted in the loss of 20 staff.

George Clarke, managing director of Heidelberg UK, said: "It is no secret as we've said before, it's inevitable that we'd have to make cuts.

"We're trying to make the organisation fit for the future, for the upturn and of course, to place a focus on our customer service offering."

The cuts come after the manufacturer previously announced it was to axe up to 2,500 jobs worldwide in a bid to reduce yearly costs by around 200m euros (£157.8m) by 2010/2011.

He said: "We are making these cuts carefully to ensure service levels are not compromised and to ensure we are not having a knee-jerk reaction to today's situation, but will be fitter and stronger long term." 

The majority of jobs will be administrative, he added.