BCE is cutting 9% of its workforce, or about 4,800 jobs, including journalists and other workers at its Bell Media subsidiary.
The company also sells 45 of its 103 regional radio stations. The affected stations are located in Quebec, Atlantic Canada, Ontario and British Columbia.
BCE says in an open letter signed by President and CEO Mirko Bibic that jobs “at all levels of the company” would be cut.
Some employees have already been warned or were to be informed on Thursday of their dismissal, while the results will be known by spring. Mr Bibic said the company would use vacancies and natural attrition to minimize layoffs as much as possible.
This is the second wave of major layoffs at the media and telecommunications giant since last spring, when 6% of Bell Media’s jobs were eliminated and nine radio stations were closed 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. Sales are subject to approval by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) and other closing conditions.
In a press release published shortly after 8 a.m., Arsenal Media announced the conclusion of an agreement with Bell Media to acquire seven stations: CFZZ-FM in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, CFEI-FM in Saint-Hyacinthe, CJDM -FM and CHRD-FM in Drummondville, CJOI-FM and CIKI-FM in Rimouski as well as CFVM-FM in Amqui.
If this transaction is confirmed, Arsenal Media, a company led by businessman Sylvain Chamberland, will own 25 radio stations in Quebec.
In the “wrong direction”
“This is a significant divestment. It’s because it’s no longer a viable business,” said Robert Malcolmson, Bell’s head of legal and regulatory affairs, in an interview with The Canadian Press.
“We will continue to operate those that are viable, but this is an activity that is going in the wrong direction. »
The company declined to say how much of the total job cuts related specifically to Bell Media.
Mr. Malcolmson noted that Bell Media is in the midst of a “digital transformation” for both entertainment and news.
But it remains to be seen whether or not prioritizing digital growth is viable for the company in terms of generating profits.
“We are investing in this; we will see, he said. Without some form of regulatory support, it’s difficult. »
Ottawa and the CRTC criticized
He criticized the federal government for taking too long to come to the aid of media companies, as well as the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) for being too slow to react to an “immediate crisis” .
This concerns two pieces of legislation intended to help Canada’s struggling media sector: Bill C-18, also known as the Online News Act, intended to force tech giants to pay Canadian media for their content, and Bill C-11, which updates the Broadcasting Act to require digital platforms such as Netflix, YouTube and TikTok to contribute and promote Canadian content.
Ottawa remains at an impasse with Facebook parent company Meta over C-18, with the company continuing to block news links on its platforms. Separately, the federal government has capped the amount broadcast media can get from Google’s $100 million annual payments at $30 million, with the rest going to print and digital media.
“In practice, it won’t do anything. “It’s disappointing to say the least,” lamented Mr. Malcolmson.
“We have been advocating for reform for years. It doesn’t come fast enough and when it does, it doesn’t provide much help. »
Thursday’s job losses at Bell Media are also directly linked to the CRTC’s directions regarding Bill C-11, said Mr. Malcolmson.
The CRTC held a hearing late last year to determine whether streaming services should be asked to make an initial contribution to the Canadian content system to help level the playing field with local companies . The commission hopes to implement new rules at the end of 2024.
But the Bell executive said the company needs immediate help, which could come from a fund he has proposed that would allow broadcasters to subsidize local or national news.
“We hope they will, but we can’t wait two years for this to happen, so you see actions like this today,” he said.
Bell Media’s advertising revenue fell by $140 million in 2023 from the previous year, and the company’s news division is seeing annual operating losses of more than $40 million, Mirko Bibic said in his letter. .
On Thursday, Bell said it may also further reduce its investments in telecommunications networks as it remains at odds with the CRTC over what it calls “predetermined” regulatory direction.
Asked about the company’s image in light of continued cuts, Mr. Malcolmson noted that the size of Bell’s management team had been reduced in recent years and that executive salaries remained frozen.
Decline in net profit
By announcing these major cuts in its workforce, BCE reports a year-on-year drop of 23.3% in its fourth quarter net profit, which fell from 567 million to 435 million. During the same period, adjusted net profit increased from 654 million to 691 million.
Net income per common share increased from $0.58 to $0.42.
For the full fiscal year 2023, BCE achieved net income of 2.327 billion, down 20.5% from the 2.926 billion reported in 2022. The decline in adjusted net income was less, of 4.3%, from 3.057 billion to 2.926 billion.
Company in this report: (TSX: BCE)