Bell cut 1,300 jobs and shut down six radio stations

Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE) announced Wednesday that it will cut 1,300 jobs, or about 3% of its workforce, and sell nine radio stations, either by closing or selling, and the company plans to “significantly adapt” its way of disseminating information. .

The company said the job cuts are a response to unfavorable public policy and regulatory conditions.

The plan includes “moving to a one-stop newsroom approach for all brands, enabling greater collaboration and efficiency,” Bell Media vice president of news Richard Gray explained in an internal memo distributed. On Wednesday morning staff who Canadian Press I got a copy.

In an interview with Canadian PressBell’s executive vice president and chief legal and regulatory officer Robert Malcolmson said the company’s media division “cannot” continue to work with different brands — such as CTV National News, BNN, CP24 and its television news stations and local radio stations. Stations – operate independently of each other.

The job cuts include a 6% cut at Bell Media, part of BCE’s Bell Canada division. Bell Media’s assets include the CTV television network, specialty television channels, radio stations and production studios.

Staff were also notified of 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 as well as NewsTalk 1290 in London.

Bell Media is also selling Hamilton’s AM 1150, AM 820, and Windsor AM 580 radio to an undisclosed third party, subject to approval by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).

Executive positions have been cut by 6%, according to the company. There will also be a 20% decrease in management positions in the company compared to 2020.

Approximately 30% of the canceled positions are currently open positions.

CTV’s foreign offices in London and Los Angeles will be closed, while its presence in Washington, D.C., will be reduced.

Noovo TV’s workforce is not affected by layoffs.

Advertising revenue carry forward

In a separate internal memo sent Wednesday, Bell Media Chairman Wade Osterman said the company is dealing with “the ongoing migration of advertising revenue to foreign digital platforms” like Facebook and Google, and a shift in subscriber count. broadcast platforms.

“We also face strong economic and inflationary pressures, reduced budgets for advertisers, and a challenging regulatory environment, which has been very slow to adjust,” Osterman added in his note to the task force.

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 revenue from traditional phone services annually, while its information business has suffered annual operating losses of $40 million. . He added that Bell radio stations have seen their profitability halve since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Our downsizing is in line with similar announcements made in recent months by other major North American technology and media companies,” Mr. Bebek wrote. our [coupes] However, it is less important than our competitors. »

Dwayne Winsk, a professor in the Carleton University School of Journalism and Communication, notes that moving to a more centralized newsroom would hurt local journalism, especially on the airwaves.

“I think one of the main things that helped radio was its demand for local representation, and so that’s a big jab at that idea,” he said.

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