Independent UK media business CN Group is looking to close its printing plant in Barrow and relocate it to Carlisle, a move that is hoped to save £1.5m in a year and create an additional four positions at the Carlisle plant, the BBC reported Tuesday.

The closure of the plant that prints the North West Evening Mail will cost 31 jobs in Barrow and will threaten five jobs at the CN Group published Hexham Courant and one at the Carlisle plant.

Employee Tony Pritchard questioned the closure's effect on the quality of the newspaper's content, pointing out that the earlier deadline of the Carlisle printing plant would mean the paper would miss stories that arrived after 0800 BST. The Barrow plant has a final deadline of 1245 BST, according to the BBC.

The publishing company, however, said the move would have limited effect on content.

Chief Executive Robin Burgess said: "The original and proposed changes have been done in such a way to ensure all the group's titles are still being published and there is a minimal effect on content," the BBC reported.