Heidenheim, Germany - Voith Paper has announced that it will cut about 1,000 jobs from its European papermaking machinery operations this year. The company cited a greatly diminished market for both new machines and major rebuilds as the reason for the personnel reductions.

Voith Paper CEO Bertram Staudenmaier said of the planned downsizing, "The market volume for new systems has shrunk in half. This is going to stay that way, which means that revenues from this market will not be coming back. The consequences for our new machines and rebuilds business are significant. In this much smaller market, we are faced with strong competition and price pressure. The decline in order volume in recent years has had a very strong effect on capacity utilization, sales, and profits. Therefore, we must adapt to the changed market conditions."

The company will bundle its paper machine business in Heidenheim with its stock preparation activities in Ravensburg and close its manufacturing facility in Ravensburg. Voith also will terminate its stock preparation activities in St. Polten, Austria, and close its operations in Krefeld and Neuwied, Germany. About 300 of the personnel cuts will be made in Voith's headquarters operations in Heidenheim, with the rest scattered over various locations and operations. Voith is holding discussions with workers' representatives about implementation of the cutbacks, which the company announcement said will be largely implemented by December 31.