The impending closure of the Washington Post’s longtime printing plant in Springfield will cost more than 100 employees their jobs.
The Jeff Bezos-owned media company notified state and local officials on Oct. 7 that the facility’s relocation from 7171 Wimsatt Road to a smaller site in Loudoun County will result in layoffs affecting 118 workers. The layoffs are scheduled to take effect on Dec. 31.
“This facility closure will unfortunately result in the separation of various employees. The Post expects this action to be permanent,” Washington Post Chief Human Resources Officer Wayne Connell said in the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN).
The federal WARN Act requires businesses with 100 or more workers to report mass layoffs and plant closings at least 60 calendar days in advance to their state worker rapid response program, which is run in Virginia by Virginia Works.
The Washington Post’s notice was first reported by the Washington Business Journal. Affected workers will include press operators, machinists, janitors, mailroom and pressroom superintendents, building engineers, occupational health nurses and more.
A Washington Post spokesperson confirmed that the notice is accurate, stressing that the company is relocating, not ceasing, its print operations.
“We remain on track to complete relocation to our new print facility on Dulles Toll Road by January 2027,” the spokesperson said.
The Washington Post has printed papers from the 500,000-square-foot facility in Springfield, just inside the Capital Beltway (I-495), since it was built in 1980.
However, its print circulation has declined in recent years, fueled by an industrywide shift toward digital readership as well as reported backlash to management decisions, including a squashed editorial endorsement of Kamala Harris for president in 2024.
The Post laid off more than 300 journalists earlier this year, gutting its international, local, sports and culture coverage in favor of an increased focus on national news, politics and business.
Despite the readership challenges, the Post has maintained that it’s still committed to its print operations, which will relocate to a 60,000-square-foot facility in a new development in Sterling near the Loudoun Gateway Metro station.
According to the WBJ, about half of the employees in Springfield will make the move to Sterling.
The paper announced this spring that it has partnered with the Washington-based supplier imPRESSions Worldwide for its new plant, which will house a Goss Urbanite Press with 28 printing units and the capacity to print every page in color. Testing of the new facility is underway.
“Print continues to be an important medium to our readers. It is a valuable, profitable way we offer our critical journalism to customers and a key market differentiator,” Gregg Fernandes, the chief officer of print operations for the Post, said in a statement when the partnership was announced.
“We will be producing the same uncompromising, high-quality product with a more efficient and sustainable approach,” he added.
