The Franco-Ontarian public broadcaster, TFO, is cutting nearly 10% of its positions in order to ensure its “sustainability” and “financial stability”.
“This approach is essential to maintain our relevance and to continue to offer quality educational, cultural and journalistic content, as well as educational resources accessible to our community,” declared its general director, Michelle Séguin, in an internal email sent Monday. of which The duty got a copy.
The “majority” of the 24 positions which will be abolished, out of a total of 207, are “vacant”, it is specified. Nine staff members are losing their jobs, but the company is nevertheless inviting them to apply for three positions which remain to be filled.
The TV channel says it is carrying out a “reassessment of the needs of all teams and a reorganization of the marketing, communication and digital experience sector”. She explains that “TFO’s budgetary pressures have increased” over the last five years, in particular due to a 15% increase in operating costs, while “basic funding has been substantially the same since 2013” and that the cable company royalties on channel subscriptions are decreasing.
“Over the years, TFO has cut its investment in its programming to compensate for its stagnant funding and revenues and rising costs. The budgets allocated to content have fallen and the rate of newness of content and educational resources from TFO has decreased by 20% in five years,” writes M.me Séguin. Funding from the Ontario Ministry of Education appears, according to her, to be one of the solutions to “tackle the challenges related [aux] revenue” of the “public educational broadcaster and media”.
It is not clear from management whether further cuts are coming. She says she is working “actively to minimize the impact on all staff” and exploring “all possible opportunities for development and growth”. “I understand the concern these changes cause regarding your job security. These organizational changes have not been taken lightly and we are aware that they will have an impact on our operations. »
Last fall, employees of TVO, the English-speaking counterpart of TFO, ratified a new collective agreement after more than two months of strike.
With Boris Proulx
This report is supported by the Local Journalism Initiative, funded by the Government of Canada.