Monday 22 December 2008

Press hall to close in York as Newsquest switches printing to Bradford and Trinity

Newsquest announced today that the print hall at The Press in York is to close with the loss of 22 jobs, according to the NUJ. From next month production of the daily Press and weekly sister paper, the Gazette and Herald, will be switched to Newsquest's Telegraph & Argus while another Newsquest title, the Northern Echo, which is also printed at York, will be shifted to a Trinity Mirror printing operation in Teesside, the union says.
NUJ Father of Chapel Tony Kelly said: "It is scandalous that our print-room colleagues are being treated so disgracefully. Talk about Merry Christmas. And it is also outrageous that such a long-standing tradition of a thriving newspaper being printed in York, one of England's greatest cities, will soon be at an end.
"The management have cited 'challenging trading conditions' and 'steps to improve the efficiency' of the business, but we understand Newsquest York will turn in a profit of £1million this year following on from the 2007 profit of £4.3million."
According to the NUJ, The Press and its forerunners, the Yorkshire Evening Press and the York Herald have been printed in York since 1790.

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