Sun Media said Tuesday it will reduce its workforce by the equivalent of 600 full-time positions due to dwindling print ad revenues. The layoffs, which constitute 10% of the Toronto company’s staff, will take effect by the end of the year in Western Canada, Ontario and Quebec, and are expected to result in restructuring costs of about $14 million.

Sun TV has been spared from any cuts, however. The struggling Toronto conventional station is owned by Sun Media and TVA Groupe, both of which are subsidiaries of Quebecor Media.

Sun Media says the move is in response to major changes affecting the print media industry worldwide, driven by the growing availability of free access to media, changing readership habits as audiences move to the Internet, and the advent of real-time information and digital transferability. The economic slowdown, rising costs and falling advertising revenues were also factors in the decision.

‘The speed at which the current economic environment is deteriorating forces us to make difficult decisions at this time of the year,’ said Pierre Karl Péladeau, president and CEO of Quebecor, in a statement. ‘The news industry is being revolutionized and we have to adapt if we want to remain an industry leader.’

Sun Media owns 43 paid-circulation and free daily newspapers in Canada and more than 200 community newspapers, shopping guides and other specialty publications. Sun Media’s English- and French-language papers reach 10.5 million readers every week.

From Media in Canada, with files from Etan Vlessing