‘A time of crisis’: Here's what you need to know about the Bell Canada layoffs
BCE, with a workforce of around 44,610 individuals, is poised to reduce its employee count by nine per cent, amounting to approximately 4,800 positions. The majority of the lost jobs will take place within Bell Canada, with under 10 per cent coming from the Bell Media division.
In an open letter signed by BCE chief executive Mirko Bibic, the company said it would leverage vacancies and natural attrition to mitigate the necessity for layoffs to the greatest extent possibly.
The cut represents the most substantial reduction in headcount at BCE in nearly 30 years and is the second significant round of layoffs at the media and telecommunications conglomerate since last spring. The first round led to the reduction of six per cent of Bell Media positions were axed, and nine radio stations underwent closure or were divested.
According to Bibic, BCE will enact workforce reductions across all levels of the company. However, the specific positions slated for elimination remain undisclosed.
In an internal memo, Bell Media informed staff it is ending multiple television newscasts and making other programming cuts.
CTV News and BNN Bloomberg are affected. Three evening programs on CTV News Channel — The Debate, This Hour and Top 3 Tonight — will end and be replaced by a four-hour news broadcast on weeknights beginning at 6 p.m.
The company also plans to sell 45 of its 103 regional radio stations. The stations set for closure include 21 in British Columbia, 12 in Ontario, seven in Quebec and five in Atlantic Canada.
“That’s a significant divestiture. It’s because it’s not a viable business anymore,” Bell chief legal and regulatory officer Robert Malcolmson said during the earnings call. “We will continue to operate ones that are
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