WATCH: For the final time, editions of The Vancouver Sun and The Province have rolled off the presses at the Kennedy Heights plant. Jennifer Pakma reports.
It’s the end of an era for British Columbia’s two biggest newspapers.
Kennedy Heights, the printing plant which published The Vancouver Sun and The Province since its opening in 1997, closes tonight after producing Saturday’s Vancouver Sun.
The Vancouver Sun will now be printed by Transcontinental Printing on Annacis Island, while The Province will be printed by Black Press Group Ltd.
Postmedia, which owns both papers, announced their plan to close and sell the printing plant in 2013 as part of ongoing cost-cutting measures.
But for the 220 employees who are now out of a job, the severance they’ve received and amount of time they’ve known of the impending closure didn’t make the day any easier. Many told Global News they were worried about re-entering the job market with a skillset that isn’t as in demand in today’s digital world.
“I thought I was going to work here until I retired,” said Rosalia Osipa. “It’s sad to see we have to finish our jobs sooner than we expected.”
GALLERY: Images from the last night of printing at Kennedy Heights, which printed The Vancouver Sun and The Province for 18 years until tonight’s closure