Report: Coloradoan outsourcing printing to Denver Newspaper Agency, eliminating as many as fifty jobs

In the past week or so, reports have circulated that the Fort Collins Coloradoan, a Gannett property, was planning to outsource its printing to the Denver Newspaper Agency, which owns a high-tech press with lots of extra capacity thanks to the closing of the Rocky Mountain News. More recently, a source revealed that an announcement would be coming mid-week, but a call yesterday to Coloradoan publisher Kim Roegner seeking confirmation was not returned.

In the meantime, though, online whispers about this development have now produced an item on the Gannett Blog, a website devoted to happenings within the chain. "Fort Collins: Production Said Closing; 40 Jobs at Risk" echoes information that also came my way: Employees were being told last night and this morning in advance of an official announcement about the slashing of forty to fifty positions.

This move, if it happens, makes sense from a purely fiscal standpoint for both the Coloradoan and the DNA. But it would an incredible gut-shot for press workers, whose profession has been under economic assault of late. Note the shuttering of National Hirschfeld, the last iteration of a century-old Denver institution, in January.

The Latest Word will publish more details as they become available.