Records show Torstar’s printing facility in Toronto was sold earlier this month for $16.5-million to what appears to be a holding company called Tempo Vic Corp.Melissa Tait/The Globe and Mail
The owner of the Toronto Star will outsource printing operations for a number of its titles to Transcontinental Inc. TCL-A-T and sell its remaining printing facility as the publisher deals with a tough climate for news media companies.
The deal, announced Monday, includes the printing of two daily newspapers and 49 community publications under the banner of Metroland Media Group, which is part of Torstar Corp.
“The decision was not made lightly and is the result of the continuing economic challenges of our industry,” Torstar spokesperson Bob Hepburn said in an e-mail. He declined to say directly whether the sale of the plant will result in layoffs.
“There are a number of staff who will be affected, some of whom will be joining Transcontinental,” he wrote. The company did not provide details about how many people are employed at the plant.
Records show Torstar’s printing facility in Toronto was sold earlier this month for $16.5-million to what appears to be a holding company called Tempo Vic Corp. Mr. Hepburn said the transaction has not yet closed.
Torstar will shift its printing to Transcontinental over the coming months, according to a press release, after which time the newspaper company will no longer have any printing operations of its own. Torstar has already contracted out much of its printing to Transcontinental, and in 2016 announced the closing of a plant in Vaughan, Ont.
The deal announced Monday also extends an agreement with Transcontinental to continue printing two other daily newspapers, including the Toronto Star, and four community publications to the end of 2027.
The announcement is one of the first strategic moves at Torstar after owner Jordan Bitove took full control of the company last November. He and former business partner Paul Rivett bought the newspaper publisher for $60-million in 2020, but their relationship quickly deteriorated, partly over disagreements about where to invest and where to cut costs.
Mr. Rivett went to court last September seeking to dissolve their joint venture and split up the company’s assets, which also included an online casino and a large stake in web forum operator VerticalScope Holdings Inc. Both later agreed to mediation and arbitration to resolve the dispute, with Mr. Bitove, who also serves as publisher of the Toronto Star, assuming ownership of Torstar.
Shortly after he took over, Mr. Bitove appointed a new chief executive officer while the company began winding down a subsidiary called Eyereturn Marketing, with plans to eliminate 28 jobs by the end of January. Torstar said the closing was because of “financial challenges” facing Eyereturn.
The company is far from alone in grappling with a wrenching change in the media landscape, as print advertising and circulation revenue fall. Postmedia Network Canada Corp., which owns more than 130 titles including the National Post, told employees this month about a number of cost-saving measures.
Postmedia is shifting some Alberta community newspapers to a digital-only format; outsourcing printing for its Saskatchewan titles; selling real estate; subleasing another building; and eliminating jobs in editorial, sales, production and distribution across the chain.
Last week, Postmedia informed employees that about 11 per cent of its 650 editorial staffers would be cut.
President and CEO Andrew MacLeod said in an employee town hall that the changes are necessary to contend with a “perfect storm” of falling revenue and rising costs owing to inflation.
Postmedia is also cutting more than 75 jobs by outsourcing printing of the Windsor Star and eliminating some editorial and inserter positions, according to Unifor and CWA Canada. The unions are urging the company to reconsider the changes, which involve moving printing to a Toronto plant and shipping papers to Windsor for distribution. Inserting will be completed in London, Ont., according to the unions, which represent the workers.
A spokesperson for Postmedia confirmed 22 full-time and 55 part-time positions will be eliminated. “We are working with union representatives in accordance with the collective agreement to ensure a smooth transition,” said vice-president of communications Phyllise Gelfand.
With reports from Stephanie Chambers
Joe Castaldo