The Telegraaf Media Group is closing its print works in Alkmaar and reducing capacity at its Amsterdam plant with the loss of 168 out of 250 jobs.

The total number of printing presses operated by the group will be cut from 10 to four and some printing will now be outsourced.

This is because printing is no longer considered a key activity, group chief executive Geert-Jan van der Snoek said. Falling circulation figures and overcapacity have made the shift unavoidable, Van der Snoek said.

The Telegraaf is the Netherlands biggest daily paper with circulation of some 460,000. In 1998, circulation topped 800,000.