In a rare dig at a private company, the prime minister said he was “upset” by the announcement of cuts at Bell, particularly because Ottawa had just offered the company $40 million in regulatory relief in April.
• Also read: Bell is cutting 4,800 jobs and reducing its media operations in Quebec
• Also read: “They preferred to throw 4,800 people out.”
• Also read: BCE cuts: 'The government has done nothing,' says Bloc Québécois leader
“This is a crappy decision,” Mr. Trudeau said in English, calling it a “garbage decision” when asked about it during a news conference in Toronto on Friday.
PMJT just lashed out at Bell, saying it was a “poor decision by a company that should know better” to fire journalists and other workers.
“I’m pretty upset about what just happened.” #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/cGgShqJKhj
— Mackenzie Gray (@Gray_Mackenzie) February 9, 2024
“I'm pretty upset about what just happened,” he added, visibly angry at Bell Media's parent company, the day after BCE announced 4,800 job cuts and the sale of 45 of its regional radio stations.
“To see how large corporations like Bell in this case are complicit in the erosion of not only our journalism, but also our democracy and our sense of community […]“This is completely unacceptable to me and it annoys me enormously,” he said.
For her part, Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge accuses Bell Media of breaking its promise to invest in local news after the company received more than $40 million in annual regulatory relief.
“At a time when the entire industry should be pulling together, we see Bell choosing to protect dividends and shareholders. Then, believe me, I'm glad that there are shareholders who make money, but today they preferred to throw away 4,800.” “It's extremely disappointing,” she explained.
Not enough for Bell
The Liberals updated the online streaming law in April. That law eliminated several fees, allowing the company to save about $40 million a year, according to Ms. St-Onge.
“The economic situation remains very difficult and state and official decisions are increasing the burden on our company,” said BCE boss Mirko Bibic in a letter to his employees on Thursday.
In another internal memo obtained by La Presse, Bell Media president Sean Cohan claims that “the modest amounts that Bell Media will receive under the application of the Online News Act are simply not enough to sustain our operations. “
Angry
Bell declined to specify where the job cuts would take place, saying only that they would affect “all levels of the company.” Quebec, where the company's official headquarters are located, is expected to be hit hard.
“Bell will depopulate information in the regions. There is a desire to have strong centralization in Montreal. “This makes me very worried about the plurality of voices,” reacted Annick Charette, President of the National Federation of Communications and Culture (CSN).
“We are angry. It is incomprehensible. On the same day they cut 4,800 jobs, they increased dividends to shareholders at the expense of workers,” commented Unifor spokesman Daniel Cloutier.
Bell has also decided to sell 45 of its 103 regional radio stations, including 7 of the 24 radio stations it operates in Quebec.
Always profitable
Bell Media remained largely profitable last year with an adjusted operating profit of $697 million, or 22.4% of revenue – a similar margin to 2022.
However, Noovo is an exception. According to the latest figures released by the CRTC, the television network suffered an operating loss of more than $36 million in 2022 on revenue of about $46 million.
This is the second wave of cuts at Bell in less than a year. In June, the company ordered 1,300 job cuts, the closure of six radio stations and the sale of three others.
– With Agence QMI and Sylvain Larocque
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