Global News job cuts include 21 layoffs in Vancouver

Corus-owned Global News has cut nearly 70 jobs across Canada, including 21 in Vancouver, according to the union.

Unifor says camera operators, reporters, anchors, control room staff, makeup artists and other production crew received layoff notices in newsrooms across Canada, with Vancouver taking the biggest hit with 21 job cuts.

Sources say the majority of the Vancouver cuts will be in off-screen roles, such as makeup artists, editors and directors, but some on-air people are still likely to be let go.

Global’s Kelowna newsroom is said to be losing at least one reporter and a pair of camera operators.

“Fewer journalists will be out gathering news from every region from Vancouver to Halifax,” Unifor president Jerry Dias said in a statement.

“If the Maritime newscasts now come from Toronto, how can you still call that local news?”

In a story posted to the Global News website, the company said it plans to add 50 positions, mostly journalists, in smaller locales in Ontario.

“With digital platforms, our audience no longer is tied to just the locations where we have TV and radio licences, so we will be adding journalists to cover local news in markets where we see opportunity created by the recent closure or consolidation of local newspapers,” said Troy Reeb, senior vice-president of Global News and Corus Radio.

Employees who lost their jobs and qualify will be given the opportunity to apply for the new positions, the company said.

The company also plans to expand its international content and to launch a podcast production team.

Unifor reported the local evening newscasts in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick will be anchored and broadcast from Toronto starting Monday.

Unifor is asking the CRTC to review local news and make strong local coverage a binding condition of licence before it’s too late, as part of an ongoing union campaign to retain local news.