News International to relocate

Wednesday, 13 October 2004 12:00 AM

Rupert Murdoch's News International is to relocate its printing presses out of Wapping as part of a £600 million investment in three new production facilities.

The publisher of The Times, The Sunday Times, The Sun, and the News of the World, will relocate its printing plant to a site near Enfield, north London, and build presses near Glasgow and Knowsley, close to Liverpool, over the next four years.

Journalists and editorial staff are, however, expected to remain in Wapping.

Some 600 people are expected to lose their jobs as the new technology will require fewer workers. News International announced it would be seeking voluntary redundancies with about £50 million will be set aside for redundancy payments.

News International said new presses had to be built to satisfy "the demand for colour" from advertisers and consumers.

It is anticipated that once the new presses go live, News International will be able to print colour "on every page" of its newspapers.

News International's move from Fleet Street to Wapping in 1986 signalled major changes in the newspaper industry. With the advent of new computerised technology, more than 4000 printers lost their jobs in the changeover and Wapping was the site of bitter protests between unions, workers and bosses for a year afterwards.

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