Bell Canada is cutting 1,300 positions and is closing or selling nine radio stations, with some high-profile names impacted by the mass layoff.
Bell says it made the decision in response to “unfavourable public policy and regulatory conditions that it can no longer outwait,” according to the Canadian Press. Additionally, it’s also a part of a new plan to ultimately revamp the company’s news cycle and transform it into a single newsroom approach.
Overall, the widespread layoff accumulates to a six per cent cut at Bell Media, a branch of Bell Canada.
Bell Executive Vice-President and Chief Legal and Regulatory Officer Robert Malcolmson says “the company’s media brand simply “can’t afford” to continue with its various brands operating independently of one another,” in an interview with The Canadian Press Wednesday afternoon.
These brands include CTV National News, BNN, CP24, and its local TV news stations and radio channels.
Several big names that have been let go effective immediately from the CTV National News division are Executive Producer Rosa Hwang, London News Bureau Correspondent Daniele Hamamdjian, Los Angeles Bureau Chief Tom Walters, Senior Political Correspondent Glen McGregor, Ottawa Bureau Chief Joyce Napier and finally, Chief International Correspondent Paul Workman.
In addition to Hwang, Daniele Hamamdjian and Tom Walters were also let go with the closure of the UK and LA bureaus. Hope CTV's loss will soon be someone elses gain… pic.twitter.com/OokWHxiIGt
— Matthew Trevithick (@M_Trevithick) June 14, 2023
The six radio stations that have been shuttered are Winnipeg’s Funny 1290, Calgary’s Funny 1060, Edmonton’s TSN 1260 Radio, Vancouver’s BNN Bloomberg Radio 1410, Funny 1040, and London’s NewsTalk 1290.
In a statement Wednesday morning, London’s 1290 CJBK shared the news and thanked its listeners for the years of support.
Woah! After 56 years, London's 1290 CJBK is no more as of this morning, per this notice on its website:
— Matthew Trevithick (@M_Trevithick) June 14, 2023
"As of 11:00 AM EST on June 14th, 1290 CJBK is off the air. The Realities of AM Radio in the broadcast media landscape have made this change unavoidable."#LdnOnt pic.twitter.com/UzqVlqXdMj
Meanwhile, Hamilton’s AM Radio 1150 and AM 820, and Windsor’s AM 580 have been reportedly sold to an undisclosed third party, pending CRTC approval.
Bell Media President Wade Oosterman says staff affected by the cuts can expect to be informed this week. Of those cuts, 30 per cent will also remain vacant.
Bell Canada will operate on a wait-and-see approach when it comes to further foreseeable future layoffs.
“We’re obviously trying to do this in the most humane, least impactful way possible. This thing affects all layers of the company and isn’t targeted at any one band of employees,” Malcolmson said to the Canadian Press.
