Webcrafters, Madison Book Manufacturer, to Cut Staff by 15%

Webcrafters plans to reduce staff by at least 15 percent. (Wisconsin State Journal, 3/16/2012)

Excerpt: With about 540 employees, jobs for at least 81 people will be cut. The company plans to offer "generous voluntary separation packages" as a first option, to minimize the number of involuntary reductions that will have to be made, President and CEO Jac Garner said in a statement Thursday. 

Positions in manufacturing, office work and supervision will be affected. 

Changes in technology, with more online content and electronic publishing of books, coupled with lower funding for printed educational materials by state and local governments due to tight budgets, led to the loss of business, company officials said. 

More publishing work also has become more automated, by clients using Webcrafters' high-speed, digital inkjet press.