Bermuda Press (Holdings) Ltd. ? the parent company of yesterday said it was going "over and above" what is required to assist ten employees made redundant on its acquisition of the commercial printing company Engravers Ltd.

Ten of the 28 employees who work for Engravers Ltd. were given four weeks notice at the beginning of this month. Contrary to a ZBM news report this week, Bermuda Press general manager Paget Wharton said his company was doing what is "fair and right" for the employees as they look for new jobs.

"As of today eight out of ten have signed up for professional services to help them create resumes and look for new jobs and we will deliver that help," he said.

"That is over and above what we are required to do. We thought that would be the best thing to do for these employees. We're doing it out of a genuine interest in helping these employees," Mr Wharton said.

Bermuda Press will also provide the employees assistance in budgeting their "substantial payouts ? as much as 60 weeks".

Mr. Wharton said: "We are paying the mandated and agreed [redundancy pay according to law as well as any outstanding vacation benefits that are due to the individual and we are also continuing to pay off half of the health insurance premium for those employees for a further two months beyond February 28."

in December The Bermuda Press and Engravers Ltd. said in statement that their customers stood to "benefit from the merged operations, from economies of scale and the unique combined services of both companies".

The parties acknowledged then that a driving force behind the merger was severe foreign competition in the last few years which they said has made it increasingly more difficult for the local printing industry to remain viable. The sale would "ensure continuing support for the Island's economy and a better range of services and prices for clients supporting Bermuda's printing industry".

Mr. Wharton said yesterday that the redundancies are "a fact of life in the environment in which we operate".

"The printing industry is in a decline and therefore that is one of the reason why we have to restructure and adjust," he said.

Engravers, as well as its subsidiary company Chameleon, will retain their names and continue to carry on business as before the sale. Mr. Wharton said that business will be as usual at Engravers with no difference in customer service or any other aspect. Customers will continue to deal with Engravers own management, sales representative and customer services personnel.

"There are still 18 Engravers employees that will remain in the operation," he said. "We will continue to produce Engravers work on Engravers equipment."