Shake-Up At Bell Media: 4800 Jobs Slashed, 45 Stations Being Sold

BCE Inc. is selling off 45 of its 103 regional radio stations as it cuts nine per cent of its workforce, including journalists and other workers at its Bell Media subsidiary.

The affected stations are in British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada, according to Global News.

The company announced Thursday in an open letter signed by chief executive Mirko Bibic that 4,800 jobs “at all levels of the company” would be cut.

Some employees have already been notified or were to be informed Thursday of being laid off, while the balance will be told by the spring. Bibic said the company will use vacancies and natural attrition to minimize layoffs as much as possible.

It marks the second major layoff at the media and telecommunications giant since last spring, when six per cent of Bell Media jobs were eliminated and nine radio stations were either shuttered or sold.

In a separate internal memo, Bell Media president Sean Cohan said the company intends to divest 45 radio stations to seven buyers: Vista Radio, Whiteoaks, Durham Radio, My Broadcasting Corp., ZoomerMedia, Arsenal Media and Maritime Broadcasting. The sales are subject to CRTC approval and other closing conditions.

“That’s a significant divestiture. It’s because it’s not a viable business anymore,” said Bell chief legal and regulatory officer Robert Malcolmson in an interview with The Canadian Press.

“We will continue to operate ones that are viable, but this is a business that is going in the wrong direction.”

The company declined to say how many of the total job cuts were at Bell Media specifically.

Malcolmson said Bell Media is in the midst of a “digital transformation” for both entertainment and news. But whether or not prioritizing digital growth is viable for the company in terms of generating profit remains to be determined.

“We’re investing in it; we’ll see,” Malcolmson said. “Without some form of regulatory supports, it’s tough.”

He blamed the federal government for taking too long to provide relief for media companies as well as the CRTC for being too slow to react to a “crisis that is immediate.”