BCE Inc. is cutting 1,300 positions and closing or selling nine radio stations as the company plans to significantly adapt how it delivers the news.
The eliminated positions include a six per cent cut at Bell Media.
Bell says the job cuts are in response to unfavourable public policy and regulatory conditions that it can no longer outwait.
The plan entails moving to a single newsroom approach across brands.
Bell executive vice-president Robert Malcolmson says the company’s media branch can’t afford to continue operating with its various brands operating independently of one another.
Set to shutter are:
- Winnipeg’s Funny 1290;
- Calgary’s Funny 1060;
- Edmonton’s TSN 1260 Radio;
- Vancouver’s BNN Bloomberg Radio 1410;
- Vancouver’s Funny 1040;
- London’s NewsTalk 1290.
Bell Media 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 CRTC approval.
Management positions are being slashed by six per cent, according to the company. There will also be 20 per cent fewer executive roles in the company compared with 2020.
An internal company memo on Wednesday says staff affected by cuts would be informed this week.
Around 30 per cent of the positions being eliminated are current vacancies that won’t be filled.
In an open letter, Bell Canada president and CEO Mirko Bibic says Bell Canada expects to lose more than $250 million in legacy phone revenues per year, while its news operations incur $40 million in annual operating losses.
“To succeed in today’s challenging economic, regulatory and competitive environment and be ready for what comes next, we need to accelerate our shift away from how telecom and media companies have operated in the past,” Bibic said.
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