Daily Mirror publisher to shut Watford print plant

Newspaper publisher Reach has announced plans to close a historic printing plant that was once the largest in the world.

The company's Watford site, next to the A41 in St Albans Road, employs 147 people. Reach said the "work currently served by it would be moved to the Newsprinters site based in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, via a commercial outsourcing agreement, in the summer".

A staff consultation process has begun. The BBC understands some might be able to be redeployed to Broxbourne, which could increase its staffing levels.

The Unite union said the decision was "nonsensical when most of Reach's revenue still comes from print".

The move brings to an end a long history of printing in Watford dating back to the early years of the 19th Century.

At one time, it was estimated that one person in every 13 in the town was involved in the industry, making it the largest print centre in the world between the 1920s and the 1960s.

The company announced hundreds of redundancies across its print and online titles in September.

The newspaper publisher is also closing its printing plant in Glasgow with the loss of about 100 jobs.

Chief executive Piers North said: "Print remains an important part of our business, and will continue to drive considerable circulation revenue, but our future is firmly rooted in digital.

"This consolidation is a proactive and strategic move, positioning our business for long-term success.

"By refining our print operations, we can focus our attention on content and audiences – the core driver of our business – and accelerate our digital growth opportunities such as our digital subscriptions offering."

Jaswinder Singh, of the Unite union, said: "It is very disappointing that Reach has made the decision to close its Watford print site, which has a long and proud history.

"This will have a major effect on our hardworking members there as well as their families and the local community.

"The decision to outsource operations elsewhere and going down the route of losing skilled print workers seems nonsensical when most of Reach's revenue still comes from print.

"Unite's focus is on supporting our members at the Watford site through this period of uncertainty and we will fight every step of the way to protect their jobs as well as call on Reach to reconsider."

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