SOUTH WINDSOR, Conn.—Gerber Scientific (NYSE:GRB) is reducing its global work force by approximately six percent. The company said the reduction is in response to a significant softening in demand during the fiscal first quarter ended July 31, 2008 for Gerber Coburn ophthalmic lens processing equipment and Gerber’s apparel and flexible materials equipment.

In connection with the reductions, Gerber expects to record approximately $1.0 million in charges for severance benefits, all in the form of cash payments, during the second quarter of this fiscal year. The actions will eliminate approximately 135 positions worldwide, and result in expected savings of approximately $5.5 million in fiscal 2009 and approximately $8.8 million annualized savings going forward.

In response to a query from VMail, Stephen Lovass, President of Gerber Scientific Products & Gerber Coburn, said, “We have been suffering some softness in our business, primarily in the US, mirroring what many of our customers and the industry is seeing. This is in contrast to our international business, which remains solid.

“While the majority of the cuts were in other parts of Gerber Scientific, Gerber Coburn did make the difficult but prudent decision to reduce a number of employees in areas directly impacted by lower volume,” Lovass said, adding, “Excluded from these reductions was our service group, a specific decision made to ensure that there would be no adverse impact on our customers. We also continue our committment to investing in new product development, most recently evidenced by our Advanced Lens Processing System, launched at the last OLA.”

Marc T. Giles, president and chief executive officer of Gerber Scientific, stated, “While the longer-term outlook for our apparel cutting and lens processing equipment is positive and we still expect to sell between 400 and 600 Solara ion printers for the year, we believe it is prudent to act aggressively now to respond to current market softness.While this was a difficult decision for us to make, these work force actions were necessary for us to achieve our commitment to continuously improve our operating margins.”

Gerber has updated its revenue expectations for this fiscal year ending April 30, 2009 to be in the range of $660 to $690 million, or up 3 to 8 percent from fiscal 2008.