(Toronto) BCE on Wednesday announced the cut of 1,300 positions, or about 3% of its workforce, and the closing or sale of 9 radio stations, as the company plans to “significantly adapt” the way it distributes information. .
The job cuts are a response to unfavorable public policies and regulatory conditions, the company argued.
The plan involves “moving to a one-stop newsroom approach for all brands, enabling increased collaboration and efficiency,” Bell Media VP of News Richard Gray explained in an internal memo distributed. to staff on Wednesday morning and which La Presse Canadienne obtained.
In an interview with La Presse Canadienne, Bell’s executive vice president and chief legal and regulatory officer, Robert Malcolmson, said the company’s media division “couldn’t afford” to continue operating with different brands – such as CTV National News, BNN, CP24, its television news stations and local radio stations – that operate independently of each other.
“It’s a consolidation in how we research the news and how we distribute it,” he explained.
Positions eliminated include a 6% reduction at Bell Media, whose assets include the CTV television network, specialty television channels, radio stations and production studios.
However, Malcolmson said, cuts will take place across the entire organization. “This operation affects all layers of the company and does not target just one group of employees. »
Executive positions are reduced by 6%, while the number of senior management positions in the company will decrease by 20% compared to 2020.
According to what La Presse has learned, employees and managers have been laid off at at least three radio stations belonging to Bell Media in Quebec: in Montérégie, Drummondville and Rimouski. However, these stations would not be in danger.
Approximately 30% of the eliminated positions are currently unoccupied positions.
The CTV network’s foreign bureaus in London and Los Angeles will close, while its presence in Washington, DC will be reduced.
The workforce of the Noovo television channel is not affected by the layoffs.
Bell Media also announced the closure of radio stations Funny 1290 in Winnipeg, Funny 1060 in Calgary, TSN 1260 Radio in Edmonton, BNN Bloomberg Radio 1410 and Funny 1040 in Vancouver, and NewsTalk 1290 in London.
The company is also selling Hamilton’s AM Radio 1150 and AM 820, as well as Windsor’s AM 580, to an undisclosed third party, subject to Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) approval.
In a separate internal memo sent Wednesday, Bell Media Chairman Wade Oosterman said the company was dealing with “the ongoing migration of advertising revenue to foreign digital platforms” such as Facebook and Google, and a shift in subscribers. cable, satellite and fiber TV to streaming platforms.
“We also face strong economic and inflationary pressures, shrinking advertiser budgets and a challenging regulatory environment, which has been too slow to adapt,” Oosterman added in his memo to staff.
In an open letter posted online Wednesday, Bell Canada President and CEO Mirko Bibic said Bell Canada expects to lose more than $250 million in traditional phone service revenue per year as its business in information suffered annual operating losses of 40 million. He added that Bell radio stations had seen their profitability halve since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Our downsizing aligns with similar announcements made in recent months by other major technology and media players in North America,” Mr. Bibic wrote. However, our [cuts] are smaller than those of our competitors. »
Dwayne Winseck, a professor in the School of Journalism and Communication at Carleton University, observed that moving to a more centralized newsroom would hurt local journalism, especially on the airwaves.
“I think one of the key things that has helped radio is its claim to local representation, and so that’s a big blow to that idea,” he said.