TC Transcontinental Announces Closure of Transcontinental de la Capitale and Transcontinental Qualimax Plants

MONTRÉAL, June 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Following the June 12 decision by the Coopérative nationale de l’information indépendante (CN2i) to permanently stop publishing its newspapers during the week, TC Transcontinental (TSX: TCL.A TCL.B) announces the definitive closure of the printing plants Transcontinental de la Capitale (Québec City) and Transcontinental Qualimax (Gatineau), both located in the province of Québec. These plants were primarily dedicated to printing CN2i’s daily newspapers, formerly owned by Groupe Capitales Médias. These closures unfortunately result in the loss of approximately 30 jobs per plant.

TC Transcontinental had maintained these plants in operation at the request of CN2i, publisher of Le Soleil, Le Droit, Le Nouvelliste, Le Quotidien-Le Progrès, La Tribune and La Voix de l'Est, because of their market proximity. Following CN2i's decision at the end of March, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, to cease the publication of its paper editions during the week, TC Transcontinental temporarily closed the abovementioned plants. The business from these plants’ customers, including the Saturday editions of CN2i dailies, was then transferred to Transcontinental Transmag in Montréal, where the company recently invested in highly efficient, state-of-the-art printing presses, and where that business will remain.

“This decision is part of our strategy of continuously optimizing our printing platform by adjusting our capacity and costs to our business volumes" said Pierre Deslongchamps, Senior Vice President, Québec and Atlantic, TC Transcontinental Printing. "We thank our employees affected by these closures for their exemplary work over the years and wish them the best of success in the future." TC Transcontinental has ensured that employees of Transcontinental de la Capitale and Transcontinental Qualimax will be supported through their career transition.

About TC Transcontinental

TC Transcontinental is a leader in flexible packaging in North America, and Canada’s largest printer. The Corporation is also positioned as the leading Canadian French-language educational publishing group. For over 40 years, TC Transcontinental's mission has been to create quality products and services that allow businesses to attract, reach and retain their target customers.

Respect, teamwork, performance and innovation are the strong values held by the Corporation and its employees. TC Transcontinental's commitment to its stakeholders is to pursue its business activities in a responsible manner.

Transcontinental Inc. (TSX: TCL.A TCL.B), known as TC Transcontinental, has approximately 8,500 employees, the majority of which are based in Canada, the United States and Latin America. TC Transcontinental had revenues of more than C$3.0 billion for the fiscal year ended October 27, 2019. For more information, visit TC Transcontinental's website at .