CBC to lay off more than 60 staff across multiple divisions
CBC is planning to shed more than 60 jobs across multiple divisions, including its news division, the National Post has learned.
In an email sent to staff, Barb Williams, the executive vice- president of CBC English Services, said 40 employees affiliated with the Canadian Media Guild in five locations across the country will be let go, with most of them in Toronto.
A further 11 people, her email said, who are affiliated with the Association of Professionals and Supervisors, which represents supervisory staff and professional employees, will also be let go.
“A number of unaffiliated positions are also a part of this overall downsizing,” the email said. This refers to a further 10 people in management who have been laid off.
In the email, Williams said CBC “operates in a challenging media landscape, a media landscape which is in constant disruption.”
The layoffs affect “all aspects of our business,” said Chuck Thompson, the head of public affairs, at CBC. This includes news, current affairs and others.
“Every one of these individuals made a difference and contributed significantly to CBC,” said Thompson.
The impact to the news division, current affairs and local news affected 58 positions, but most were dealt with by retirement and attrition. Nineteen people were laid off.
The other 21 people in the Canadian Media Guild were let go across other divisions.
Williams said in her note to staff the CBC faces a $ 21- million deficit each fiscal year, and the current environment necessitated “adjustments to our business and in turn, those adjustments will have an impact on our workforce.”
CBC said the cuts were not related to the pandemic, although it has exacerbated the financial pressures of declining advertising and subscription revenues for the public broadcaster and other media organizations.
According to its financial statements, the Crown corporation received more than $ 1.2 billion from the federal government in 2019 and employed some 7,400 people across its divisions.