Global News has laid off more than 24 employees across Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario this week, according to CBC News. The parent company, Corus Entertainment, attributed the job cuts to the "current economic and regulatory reality."
Anna Arnone, a spokesperson for Global News, stated that the layoffs were part of an ongoing business evaluation and efficiency review at Corus. She noted that these changes were necessary to adapt to the industry's economic and regulatory challenges.
In Western Canada alone, 25 positions were eliminated. Calgary comes in second with 13, followed by Edmonton with 8, Lethbridge with 3, and Edmonton with 1. At the same time, journalists in Global News' Ottawa bureau were also laid off.
This development follows Corus' recent announcement that Warner Bros. Discovery would not renew some of its programming arrangements. Subsequently, Rogers secured multi-year deals with NBCUniversal and Warner Bros., set to take effect in January 2025.
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Why Global News Laid Off Employees
Corus CEO Doug Murphy noted that the company has reduced costs following previous job cuts and programming reductions. Corus reported a loss of $9.8 million in the latest quarter, with ongoing distortions in the advertising market cited as contributing factors.
An internal memo to Global News employees outlined that the layoffs were also intended to prepare the news division for increased economic pressure, worsened by competition from large international tech giants dominating the Canadian advertising market.
In response to financial pressures, Canada's broadcasting regulator recently eased some of Corus' Canadian content spending requirements. Corus had requested these changes to gain "much needed flexibility" amid programming and advertising uncertainty.
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