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 the Broxbourne site could increase its staff.

The Unite union said the decision had come as a "shock" to the workforce.

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 printing industry, making it the largest print centre in the world between the 1920s and the 1960s.

The company announced a raft of redundancies across its print and online titles in September last year.

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."

Norman King, of the Unite union, said the plans had been announced with "no warning".

He added: "There is minimal detail on timeframes and there have been no discussions involving Unite on a potential closure.

"We have urgently called for meetings with Reach PLC on whether anything can be done to reverse this decision."

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