WSJ/Barron’s parent to close printing plant in the Bronx

Dow Jones & Co. CEO Almar Latour sent out the following on Wednesday:

Dear Colleagues,

Today, News Corp has announced its intention to shift the printing of The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s and the New York Post, in the NY metro area, to The New York Times’ College Point plant in Queens.

As our results show, in the fourth quarter Dow Jones achieved record average subscriptions of 3.8 million to its consumer products, led by 28% growth in digital-only subscriptions, including 23% growth in digital-only subscriptions at The Wall Street Journal.

We have been moving rapidly to a more digital environment, and, while demand for digital is growing, we also have an important community of loyal readers who love the print experience. We’re committed to providing customers with our trusted news and analysis in the format they prefer.

By moving our printing from the Bronx Print Plant, to a different facility in the city, we will be able to bring down our costs, which ultimately means that we are extending our commitment to producing print products.

This plan would result in the closure of the Bronx Print Plant, and unfortunately, there will be job reductions.

This has been a very difficult decision. Our priority is to support the Bronx teams as best we can through this challenging time. We will be working closely with our colleagues and their union representatives over the coming months, and during that time, we will continue to print from the Bronx.