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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Sixteen jobs will be cut in two years after the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville phases out a printing unit, school officials said.
Offset printing will stop on July 1, 2016, in the university's Print-Mail-Copy Solutions business unit, which provides graphic design services, on-campus mail delivery and a full-service post office. Offset printing involves transferring ink from a plate to a rubber cylinder and then onto paper.
The planned cuts are about 40 percent of the business unit, which has 39 jobs, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported (http://bit.ly/1mDBdtx ).
University officials said the offset printing operation has been losing money for years. Ending the offset printing service, they say, is expected to save the college several hundred thousand dollars per year.
"While most people don't want to hear their position is being phased out, our plan is to give ample advance notice to the 16 affected employees, giving them approximately two years to make an orderly transition to other employment or to plan for retirement," said Tim O'Donnell, interim vice chancellor for finance and administration.
The school will work with employees who want to stay at the university in helping them find jobs, he said.
A mix of in-house services and outside vendors will be used to help fulfill campus demands for printing brochures, newsletters and postcards.
David Martinson, UA's associate vice chancellor for business affairs, said the offset printing service has struggled to compete with larger print operations that have "superior economics of scale."
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Information from: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, http://www.arkansasonline.com
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