TORONTO – After restructuring and thinning out the executive ranks through the summer and fall, as we’ve reported on extensively, Bell Media is about to eliminate about 380 more employees at the manager level and below.
As is required by the Canada Labour Code, companies which intend to cut 50 or more positions over a four-week period must inform the Minister of Labour, as well as post notices of the impending terminations inside company locations. Last week, Bell Media did just that, informing the new Minister, MaryAnn Mihychuk, on November 5th of the coming cuts. This was first reported by the Globe and Mail.
“Bell Media operates within the broadcasting industry. The above reductions are required as Bell Media confronts a fast-changing multimedia landscape and must evolve its business in order to compete and grow now, and in the future,” reads the letter to the Minister from Bell Media VP human resources Anne McNamara, a copy of which was attained by Cartt.ca.
UPDATED: The letter says that 220 positions in production, editorial and operations will be affected, along with 45 in sales and marketing and five administrative and clerical positions in Toronto. In Montreal, an additional 110 positions will be cut, including 70 in production, 35 in sales and 5 administrative jobs. The number of additional cuts in other regions have not been announced yet. (A previous version of this story cited only the Toronto numbers. It has been upgraded to reflect the additional numbers being affected in Montreal.)
Inside the big broadcaster, most are blaming the CRTC’s new TV policies as the driver for this round of cutbacks. March 2016 will see the Commission’s key Let’s Talk TV policies such as the new, mandated, $25 skinny basic package for TV carriers come into effect, along with the requirement to sell all specialty channels on an a-la-carte basis. “We’ve been told that since the company can’t predict what will happen on the revenue side when the regs change, but can control the cost side, we need to reduce,” one manager who asked not to be named told Cartt.ca.
“We’re not going to sit back and have a cost structure that’s not reflective of the rules the CRTC has put in place.” – Glenn LeBlanc, BCE
“We’re all just sitting here crapping our pants and hoping for the best,” said another Bell Media employee who asked to remain anonymous.
“We’re not going to sit back and have a cost structure that’s not reflective of the rules the CRTC has put in place,” BCE CFO Glenn LeBlanc told financial analysts during the company’s Q3 conference call last week, echoing CEO George Cope who said the same earlier in the call. More will be said on how much the company will save in its February Q4 release and conference call.
The rumour inside Bell Media now is that people affected by this round of cuts will begin to find out their fate as early as Friday. However, when the company embarked on its overhaul this summer, it said all of the restructuring announcements would be made by the end of November.
This will bring the number of employees let go, or to be let go, from Bell Media this year to approximately 440. This is on top of the 120 positions eliminated from its Toronto TV division in 2014.
