Plant to shut doors, leave 400 jobless

DEPEW, N.Y. (WIVB) - Quad Graphics will close its Depew plant by the end of the year.

"It's going to be a huge impact not only on Depew, but a large part of western New York," said Joe Ziewicki, Director of Graphic Division of Teamsters Local 264.

Quad Graphics in Depew has announced its doors will be closing for good by the fall, 400 people will be jobless.

  >>  Spokesman Claire Ho said, "This was part of our on-going process of integrating the operations of Worldcolor. We had acquired them in July of last year."

Employee Cherie Lynn Frederick said, "They'll relocate if possible. They're willing to train some of us in different fields and things like that."

  >>  The company says it plans to assist employees in finding new jobs, including those at other Quad/Graphics locations.

Quad Graphics, formally Quebecor, prints magazines, books, catalogs and retail inserts.

The company is making a $15 million investment to a plant in West Virginia.

But the 83,000 square-foot building in Depew will soon stand empty.

Ziewicki said, "The age of the plant, the age of our machinery, we are no longer competitive because of the lack of technology in the building."

Frederick said, "Hope for the best and maybe somebody out there will hire us. You know, I got a sixteen-year-old child to take care of. I can't go on welfare."