The division is being shut and the company is transferring its customers work to other sites, including Newcastle and Leeds.

"The closure has been necessitated by changing market circumstances and reduced activity levels specifically by the customers serviced out of that site," said Schawk European managing director Nigel Parsons.

"There are to be no further changes at the present time," added Schawk president and chief executive David Schawk. "There was a lot of overcapacity."

Parsons added that the division is in the midst of a five-month transition period and that some staff would be relocating to other Schawk sites, although he would not confirm the numbers involved.

"Our employees in Birmingham are being highly professional in their approach and we appreciate this greatly," added Parsons.

Meanwhile, senior staff have left Schawk. Ex-Seven Worldwide directors and Schawk board members Brian McGrath and Gary Noble have left, with McGrath moving to newly formed SGS Nottingham.

The packaging repro house was set up at the end of last year by US-based Southern Graphic Systems.

Noble was previously financial director at Seven and is understood to have joined Wyndeham Graphics.

"Yes, there have been senior level changes and reasons vary from personal circumstances to restructuring," added Parsons. "I am not able or willing to discuss individual cases but the company has considerable depth and breadth of management in the UK."

I think every company has its own culture and Winnets and Seven were fierce competitors," added Schawk. "We are merging three different cultures."

US-based Schawk created its European arm at the end of 2004 after buying Winnets and Seven Worldwide.

Schawk timeline
- December 2004: US-firm Schawk moved into Europe by buying Winnets and Seven Worldwide

- June 2005: The merger of the two acquisitions results in the shedding of 80 jobs across the Salford and Bristol sites

- February 2006: Closure of Birmingham and changes to senior management