Report: Torstar outsourcing more printing operations, selling Toronto plant

Continuing to grapple with challenging economic conditions, Torstar is outsourcing more of its printing operations to Transcontinental Inc.

According to a report by The Globe and Mail on Jan. 30, the deal includes the printing of two daily newspapers and 49 community publications under the Metroland Media Group banner.

Transcontinental will also continue printing two other daily papers, including the Toronto Star, and four community publications until the end of 2027.

While Torstar didn’t elaborate on how the agreement will impact staff, several employees at Metroland Media Group have contacted Samfiru Tumarkin LLP — claiming that they have been laid off.

According to Torstar’s website, the company employs a total workforce of more than 2,500 people.

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Torstar selling Toronto facility

In addition to shifting more of its printing operations to Transcontinental, Torstar is selling its remaining plant in Toronto.

Records obtained by The Globe revealed that the facility was sold to Tempo Vic Corp. for more than $16-million earlier this month.

“There are a number of staff who will be affected, some of whom will be joining Transcontinental,” Torstar spokesperson Bob Hepburn told the paper in an e-mail.

Hepburn added that the transaction hasn’t closed yet.

The sale comes a few years after Torstar closed its printing facility in Vaughan, Ontario in 2016, which resulted in approximately 300 production and editorial employees being laid off.

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Termination agreements for Torstar employees

In Canada, non-unionized employees and senior executives at Torstar are owed full severance pay when they lose their jobs due to downsizing or corporate restructuring.

This includes individuals working full-time, part-time, or hourly in Ontario, Alberta, and B.C.

Severance can be as much as 24 months’ pay, depending on a number of factors.

LEARN MORE
• Severance packages in mass layoffs
• Rights to severance for provincially regulated employees
• Severance pay in a recession

WATCH: Employment lawyer Lior Samfiru explains what rights employees have if they are being fired or let go on an episode of the Employment Law Show.

Before you accept any severance offer, have an experienced employment lawyer at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP review it and your employment contract.

We can tell you if what you have been provided is fair and how to get proper compensation if it falls short of what you are actually owed.

If you aren’t given the full amount, which happens often, you have been wrongfully dismissed and are entitled to compensation.