40 Johnston jobs under threat

News by

25 July 2002

Johnston Press has entered a 30-day consultation for the closure of its Harrogate printing plant, which could result in the loss of 40 jobs.

A "lack of colour capabilities" was cited as the sole reason for the closure, with bigger and better colour press facilities located elsewhere in the region.

According to group finance director Stuart Paterson, property pages within the Harrogate Advertiser had to be run through several times to get the right density.

The plant, which was one of eight brought under the Johnston umbrella when it bought Regional Independent Medias production facilities and titles in April, printed weekly newspapers in Harrogate.

All production will now be moved to Johnstons Leeds, Wakefield and Sunderland sites.

The move completes Johnston Press three-year 40m investment programme, which included six Polaris CTP units ordered in January, an eight-tower, 10-reelstand, two-folder Goss Universal press in Peterborough, and a single-folder model for Portsmouth.

The Goss Metro at the Northampton site has also undergone a major upgrade (PrintWeek, 31 August 2001).