THE parent company of the South Wales Argus, Newsquest, is considering closing the printing press at its Newport office.

Under the proposal the jobs of 21 print staff would become redundant and the Argus would be printed at another Newsquest site.

A consultation process has begun with the print workers.

Newsquest Wales and Gloucestershire regional managing director Gavin Steacy said: "An extensive review of Newsquest printing has recently been conducted with the aim of achieving the most efficient use of the group's press facilities.

"The review considered the current Newsquest printing facilities in terms of page and colour capabilities in relation to current and future scheduling requirements.

"The results of this review have highlighted significant spare capacity.

"As a result of this review it is proposed to close the Newport press facility and migrate Wales and Gloucestershire titles to other Newsquest printing sites who can offer more colour and produce our titles more efficiently without the need for pre-printing and inserting, thereby reducing costs significantly for the group."

The closure of the Newport press would mean that the South Wales Argus would be published overnight as currently happens with our Saturday edition.

The South Wales Argus website www.southwalesargus.co.uk, which has more than 90,000 unique users, will continue to deliver instant breaking news.