Gannett plans to cut 51 jobs and permanently close production and distribution operations at the Pueblo Chieftain, which owns one of the last remaining large-scale printing presses in the state, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act letter filed with the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.

Employees were informed Tuesday that their jobs would be eliminated, with layoffs set to begin around Aug. 14, although that might be stretched out to a 13-day period beyond that date. Two employees will be kept until Oct. 15.

“As a result of this closing, all employees in the production operation at the Pueblo facility will be permanently separated from employment,” Carla Gillespie, a human resources executive with Gannett, wrote in the letter.

About half the jobs involve inserters and mailroom workers, followed by press operators and technicians and some delivery positions. There are no bumping rights, meaning the displaced workers won’t have priority when it comes to applying for other openings within Gannett, the nation’s largest newspaper group.

The printing plant, 825 W. 6th St., will be put up for sale, and printing transferred to The Denver Post facility in Adams County, according to a statement from the Pueblo News Guild.

“The decision to eliminate 51 jobs in our community and outsource that work to Denver is indefensible. As Colorado’s oldest daily newspaper, the Chieftain has maintained 154 years of reliable news, advertising, editorials and photographs related to important events and milestones in the Pueblo community,” said Tony Mulligan, administrative officer at the Denver Newspaper Guild, which issued the statement.

Mulligan noted that some of those being let go have worked at the paper for more than 25 years doing difficult night shift work.

Gatehouse acquired the Chieftain from the Rawlings family in 2018 following the passing of long-time publisher, editor and owner Robert Hoag Rawlings in 2017 at age 92. Gatehouse, which merged with Gannett in 2019, has taken the Chieftain’s newsroom headcount from more than 30 people to six, Mulligan said, and nationwide, the two companies have slashed their payroll by half since combining.

“The printing press at the Chieftain is one of the only remaining large-scale news presses in Colorado. Dozens of publications from around the region are printed at the Chieftain and we also worry about their future printing availability and costs,” Mulligan said.

Chieftain readers could face delays in receiving their papers if there are traffic problems or inclement weather along the Interstate 25 corridor, he warned. The two printing presses are about 118 miles apart.

The Denver Post previously had printing contracts with Gannett for the Fort Collins Coloradoan and USA Today and has partnered with it on distribution since 2009, said Bill Reynolds, senior vice president of circulation and production at the Post.

“We are always looking for additional commercial print jobs to print here at our Washington Street plant. This gives our employees in the pressroom and mailroom additional hours and they all do a great job in taking care of not only the Denver Post but all of our commercial print clients,” he said.