News Corp announced today that it plans to shift the printing of several of its publications in New York to a different facility in the city, a move which will help cut costs and secure production of print editions of The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s and the New York Post for years to come.
Under the change, the publications would be printed at The New York Times’ College Point plant in Queens. This plan would result in the closure of the company’s Bronx Print Plant, where the publications are currently printed. Financial details of the arrangement were not released.
The company has notified the leadership of the unions representing the employees at the Bronx Print Plant about the plan, and is entering into a period of negotiation with the unions. While the process is underway, the publications will continue to be produced at the Bronx plant.
The Bronx Print Plant produces daily print copies of the Journal and The Post, along with Barron’s weekly. All three are also printed in a number of other locations around the country. The Journal and The New York Times are currently printed together at plants in Florida, Pennsylvania, Texas, Illinois, Colorado, Utah and California.
The decision is part of News Corp’s ongoing process of simplifying the structure of the company, which sold its News America Marketing and Unruly businesses within the past year. In August, News Corp began presenting Dow Jones as a separate segment in its quarterly earnings announcements for the first time. Dow Jones produces the Journal and Barron’s, as well as Factiva, MarketWatch, Mansion Global, Financial News, Dow Jones Risk & Compliance and Dow Jones Newswires.
“This is a difficult but important step towards safeguarding our journalism and securing the printing of our publications well into the future,” said Almar Latour, CEO of Dow Jones and Publisher of The Wall Street Journal. “We have been moving rapidly to a more digital environment, and while demand for digital is growing, we also serve an important community of loyal readers who love the print experience. We’re committed to providing customers with our trusted news and analysis in the format they prefer.”
“This decision is not an easy one, and we are grateful for the steadfast help of everyone associated with the Bronx Print Plant in producing and distributing our publications every day,” said Sean Giancola, CEO of the New York Post. “With this change, we can help move The Post farther along the path to profitability, which has been accelerated recently due to higher traffic to the Post Digital Network, growing digital ad revenues, a price increase and additional cost-savings measures.”
The Bronx Print Plant has more than 400,000 square feet, located on a 16-acre site in the Port Morris section of the Bronx, and was opened in 2001. News Corp will be examining options for the future of the plant.
https://newscorp.com/2020/09/16/news-corp-announces-plan-to-shift-new-york-printing/