CBC cutbacks

Broadcaster to lay off 600 staff in face of budget shortfall

During a town-hall meeting on Monday, CBC president Catherine Tait told CBC and Radio-Canada employees that the public broadcaster will cut up to 10 per cent of its workforce, including 600 workers, according to the public broadcaster.

The broadcaster is making the cuts to address a $125-million shortfall that it’s facing, with cuts to both its English and French services.

“Rising production costs, declining television advertising revenue and fierce competition from the digital giants” were to blame for the multimillion-dollar hole that is expected for the next fiscal year, the CBC wrote in a press release.

Of those cuts, $40 million will be to programming, according to the corporation. The CBC confirmed on Monday that on top of the layoffs, which will affect both union and non-union workers, 200 vacant jobs will remain empty. There are also no plans to implement a retirement incentive package, according to sources, speaking confidentially in order to discuss the meeting.

According to the public broadcaster, 250 workers will be laid off from each of the CBC and Radio-Canada, along with an additional 100 employees from CBC’s corporate and technology divisions.

“Each division will begin phasingin reductions based on their business plans and operational requirements,” the press release states. “Some will begin immediately; most will take effect over the next 12 months.”

“These reductions are being done in a way that maximizes our flexibility should our financial situation change next year,” Tait wrote. “And minimizes the effects on our employees, programming and the services we provide to Canadians.”

“CBC/Radio-Canada is not immune to the upheaval facing the Canadian media industry,” Tait said in the release. “We’ve successfully managed serious structural declines in our business for many years, but we no longer have the flexibility to do so without reductions.”

Heritage Minister Pascale StOnge, speaking before the layoffs were confirmed, said her thoughts are with employees of CBC and Radio-Canada in a press conference earlier on Monday.

News of the layoffs comes just days after the federal government reached a $100-million-a-year deal for Google to pay Canadian news outlets after a standoff over the Online News Act. The act requires tech giants like Google and Meta to compensate news outlets for content that appears on their sites.

“Like all of you, I heard about the meeting that will be happen today between CBC/Radio-Canada’s employees and their administration,” St-Onge said at a news conference on Parliament Hill.

The minister said that CBC/Radio-Canada, like other media companies, is “facing difficulties due to the media crisis and difficulties with their private revenues.”

St-Onge emphasized the Liberal government’s commitment to funding the public broadcaster, and committed to revising CBC/Radio-Canada’s mandate to “make sure it fits the current situation.”

“From my understanding, CBC/ Radio-Canada is facing broader challenges than would be fixed under (Bill) C-18, the Online News Act,” St-Onge said. However, she clarified that she believed CBC/Radio-Canada would be eligible for money under the new Google deal.

In March, the government mandated other agencies and departments to cut three per cent off of their existing budgets. The minister clarified on Monday that the decision on budget cuts for CBC/Radio-Canada has not been made yet.

“The reason for their decision and announcement today, you should redirect your questions to the management over there,” St-Onge said, responding to a question about whether the expected layoffs were prompted by the government’s request for agencies to trim spending.