Philadelphia Inquirer to sell printing facility, 500 to lose jobs

 

The Philadelphia Inquirer is shuttering its Montgomery County printing plant and moving production of its papers to Cherry Hill, New Jersey, to an operation owned by Gannett, the paper reported.

Up to 500 people are losing jobs in the move, according to the paper. It’s possible Gannett will hire some of The Inquirer employees, but that’s not guaranteed, according to Lisa Hughes, publisher and chief executive officer of The Inquirer, the paper said.

The cuts represent nearly half of the paper’s staff of 1,073.

The closure of the Schuylkill Printing Plant in Upper Merion Township may come by the end of the year, the paper said. The sale is not yet final, said a memo to staff from Hughes.

The Inquirer is working with a buyer for the 45-acre property. The buyer’s identity was not made public.

The property has a 674,000-square-foot manufacturing facility, opened in 1992.

The change is “is aimed at ensuring the survival of the media company as consumers turn to digital platforms for their news,” said the paper.

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