MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Pennsylvania (From The Morning Call) -- The Quad/Graphics printing plant in Upper Hanover Township, Montgomery County, will soon start ramping down production, and some of its more than 400 employees could leave as early as next month, the Wisconsin-based company said Tuesday.

In an email, Quad/Graphics spokeswoman Claire Ho said some workers may leave in mid-to-late December, depending on how quickly the company can transition work and shut down equipment. The plant is slated to wrap-up production in early January, she added.

"We will begin the ramp-down soon," Ho said. "It will be an orderly transition of work over a period of time."

Earlier this month, Quad/Graphics announced its plan to shutter the printing plant, which is located at 668 Gravel Pike and was formerly a Brown Printing Co. facility. Quad/Graphics decided to close the plant, along with another in Augusta, Ga., as part of a broader effort to cut costs by $100 million.

Joel Quadracci, chairman, president and CEO of Quad/Graphics, on Nov. 3 said the company's third-quarter financial performance was "below our expectations" and promised "swift and decisive action to address the volume and pricing pressures."

Employees were given the bad news Nov. 4 -- the same day Kraft Heinz Co. announced it would close its Upper Macungie Township facility over the next 12 to 24 months, putting 415 employees out of work.

The Quad/Graphics plant has 422 employees, according to a notice filed with the state Department of Labor & Industry, and some of those workers could relocate to other company facilities across the country.

Ho said the company is working to retain as many employees as possible.

She added Quad/Graphics held an on-site job fair and, because of interest in the company's Martinsburg, W.V., and Saratoga Springs, N.Y., facilities, Quad/Graphics has arranged bus trips to provide "employees and family members with the opportunity to see the area and these facilities."

Those who don't stay with Quad/Graphics will be offered separation packages, including a pay and benefits extension and job-placement and financial planning services, Ho said. The packages will be based on length of employment, including years employed by Minnesota-based Brown Printing, which Quad/Graphics acquired in May 2014 for $100 million.

"We are also working with local employers to promote their job openings to our employees," Ho said.

The local plant, built in 1977, is approximately 425,000 square feet and sits on more than 38 acres, according to Montgomery County property records. It has a total assessed value of $9.6 million.

Ho said Quad/Graphics owns the building, aside from a 50,000-square-foot portion that it leases. "We will put up our building for sale at some point in the future," she said.

The Upper Hanover plant produces weekly, biweekly and monthly business and consumer publications and catalogs, specializing in tabloid-sized products and weekly publications with print runs from 25,000 to several million, according to the Quad/Graphics website.