Sun Media closing 11 papers, including the Meadow Lake Progress

A copy of the free newspaper 24 Hours Vancouver displaying a front page B.C. Liberal Party advertisement with leader and Premier Christy Clark bearing a similarity to a regular news page, is seen in Vancouver, B.C., on Wednesday May 1, 2013. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Sun Media Corp. said Tuesday it is cutting 360 positions and closing 11 publications across the country, including its 24 Hours free daily newspapers in Ottawa, Calgary and Edmonton.

The newspaper publisher said the plan is expected to yield annual savings of approximately $55 million.

Sun Media says it made the decision to close the three 24 Hours newspapers because it wants to focus on a single urban newspaper in each market, except Montreal and Toronto, where it says large transit systems warrant publishing the free dailies.

The company will continue to publish 24 Hours in Vancouver, where Sun Media doesn't have a daily newspaper.

Sun Media, which is a subsidiary of Montreal-based Quebecor Inc. (TSX:QBR.B), is also closing eight publications in smaller communities in several provinces including three francophone publications in Quebec.

The closures include Le Magazine Saint-Lambert, Le Progres de Bellechasse and L'Action Regionale in Monteregie, Que., the Lindsay Daily Post and the Midland Free Press in Ontario, the Meadow Lake Progress in Saskatchewan and the Lac du Bonnet Leader and the Beausejour Review in Manitoba.

"The management decisions we are making are difficult and highly regrettable, particularly the job cuts," said Sun Media's chief operating officer Julie Tremblay.

"However, the downsizing is necessary to maintain a strong positioning for our news media outlets on all platforms, and more broadly to secure our corporation's future success in an industry that is being revolutionized by the advent of digital."

Declining advertising revenues have hit the newspaper industry hard.

Quebecor warned earlier this year that it would not rule out further cost-cutting efforts to address the drop facing its newspaper business.

Last year, it announced plans to cut some 500 jobs at its Sun Media newspaper division, a move that included the closure of two production facilities in Ottawa and Kingston.

Sun Media has 36 paid-circulation daily newspapers and three free dailies as well as almost 200 community newspapers, shopping guides and other specialty publications.