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Transcontinental announces closure of last Manitoba printing plant

Transcontinental Inc. has announced that it is closing its last printing plant in Winnipeg, Man., which currently employs 93 workers. The plant, which prints magazines and flyers, is scheduled to shut down by 2021, although workers will be let go as the work load lessens.

“Transcontinental remains incredibly profitable, raking in $48.3 million net profit in the last quarter alone and that’s during the pandemic,” said Unifor’s national president, Jerry Dias, in a media statement in reaction to the plant closure. “This is a company that took $44 million from the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, a program designed to save jobs during this crisis, and then opted to pull up stakes and take good paying positions out of Winnipeg.”

The release notes that over the past 15 years, Transcontinental has closed 20 locations in Manitoba.  In addition, this news comes after Transcontinental committed to at least five years of production in Winnipeg, with the possibility of extending to 10, only two years ago, a move which Unifor western regional director Gavin McGarrigle says will “effectively kill large-scale commercial printing in the province of Manitoba.”

The workers at the plant are members of Unifor Local 191.