Massive layoffs expected to be announced by CBC/Radio-Canada today, another major blow to Canada’s media sector

CBC and Radio-Canada employees across the country are bracing for a major announcement that could see hundreds of staff out of a job.

Already, media reports have been circulating including one from La Presse revealing that Canada’s public broadcaster is looking to eliminate up to 700 positions.

READ MORE: ‘Every part of the organization will be affected,’ CBC/Radio-Canada slashes 600 jobs or 10% of its workforce in massive bloodbath, leaving journalists, politicians and everyday Canadians in shock

Now Toronto has retrieved an internal email sent to all CBC/Radio-Canada staff of a virtual meeting scheduled to take place Monday afternoon. 

According to the internal document, staff will be updated on “financial challenges” and will “discuss what’s coming up in the next few months.”

Online, the public broadcaster is trending across the country on X, formerly known as “Twitter”.

Now Toronto has reached out to the CBC for comment, and they responded saying they will be releasing a statement later today. We will update our readers once we receive their response. 

News of this major announcement comes in the midst of a reckoning in Canada’s legacy media landscape as traditional broadcasters struggle to adapt to a changing media environment. 

Bell Media, the country’s largest private broadcaster has been very vocal about the softening advertising market and the restrictive regulatory environment and its effects on business operations. 

Earlier this year, Bell Media eliminated 1,300 positions from its workforce as a result. 

Corus Media, the country’s second-largest private broadcaster is also feeling the pressure and cancelled its long-running newsmagazine show, ET Canada, after 18 seasons in October due to a “challenging advertising environment.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government has tried to respond to the media hardships by adapting new legislation such as Bill C-18, also known as the ‘Online News Act’. 

The bill aims to re-distribute online advertising dollars that have overwhelmingly landed in the pockets of foreign tech giants such as Google and Meta, by forcing them to pay Canadian news publishers for local journalism.

However, the bill has been extremely controversial leading Meta to block all news content from Canadian publishers from their platforms on Facebook and Instagram. 

Now Toronto has been affected by this move. 

Google has been more receptive to working with the government and recently struck a deal that would see the tech giant pay $100 million a year to Canadian publishers. 

Details of how that money will be distributed and which Canadian media publishers, including the CBC, will benefit from those dollars is still to be determined.