Ivoclar to cut 50 jobs as it shifts production

Dental equipment maker Ivoclar plans to cut 50 of about 140 jobs at its Bürs factory in Vorarlberg as it moves production, ORF reported, citing the Vorarlberger Nachrichten. The company said growing price and competitive pressure was behind the decision.

About 35 affected employees are expected to receive job offers at Ivoclar’s headquarters in Schaan, Liechtenstein. The company said dismissals would be a last resort and that it would offer support where continued employment was not possible. The cuts will be phased in rather than implemented immediately. Vorarlberg’s Public Employment Service is in contact with the company’s management.

Bürs will remain a production site, focusing on selected product groups, some of them complex, and on launching new products and production processes. Of the 10 product groups currently made there, five will remain in Vorarlberg over the long term. The Bürs factory will support the transfer of production processes until they are ready for serial manufacturing, after which Ivoclar’s plant in Lipa, the Philippines, will take over production.

Ivoclar said its two-site model is intended to reduce costs, shorten global supply routes and reduce geopolitical dependencies. The company established its Austrian operation in 1966 and moved production to Bürs five years later.