June 2, 2003 -- (WhatTheyThink.com) -- MAN Roland plans to further reduce staffing by 540 in their manufacturing plants overseas. Facing lower demand and aggressive pricing strategies by competitors, the company will make 210 cuts at its Offenbach, Geisenheim and Mainhausen manufacturing plants in the Rhein Main region and 330 jobs will be lost at its Augsburg web offset production plant according to Printweek, a UK based trade magazine. The plant in Offenbach manufactures the Roland 300, 700 and 900 sheetfed offset presses. Deputy press officer Eva Doppler told Printweek that the market had failed to show any signs of improvement. This has forced MAN Roland to take out production capacity. Doppler said the group hoped the redundancies would be “the last cuts that we have to make”. Shorter working hours implemented at MAN Roland’s web division earlier this year will also continue. Yves Rogivue, CEO of MAN Roland Inc. told WhatTheyThink.com this weekend that the moves will not affect efforts in North America. “The staffing reductions in Germany, while unfortunate, will not have any impact on MAN Roland’s operations here in North America. Our service capabilities are stronger than ever, and we’re equipped to provide any North American facility with the innovations it requires to succeed in this tough economy. We’re working harder than ever to help lift the graphic arts industry out of the doldrums by providing our customers with more efficient ways to do business.”