Océ Australia immune from global job cuts

This follows Océ's earlier announcement that it would be shifting part of its production to Asia and central Europe to take advantage of low-cost labour and parts availability. The company has already moved 20 per cent of its production, and indicates it hopes to raise this figure to 50 per cent during 2006.

Luuk Bruning, corporate communications manager at Océ, has indicated that this ongoing process of cost reduction will not impact the workforce of the Australian operations. “Other than a more competitive offer for our customers, including Australia, no impact is expected,” he says.

In addition to the jobs lost in this production shift, Océ plans on cutting another 500 jobs across Europe, with 150 to be taken from its corporate headquarters in Venlo, the Netherlands. The sackings are part of the company's plans to strengthen its profit growth, with additional savings also being sought as part of the program.

Océ emphasises that sales of new printing systems are increasing, with a positive trend towards recurring revenues from service contracts. Bruning has confirmed that further cost reductions are necessary to achieve its strategic objectives, which will involve looking at back office activities and general overheads.

The company is expecting profits for 2005 to clock in at around $61 million, or around 6 per cent of total revenue. Revenue in 2004 came in at $4.18 billion.