CBC cutting 600 jobs
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, according to multiple sources.
“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.
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 phasing-in 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.”
CBC/Radio-Canada — which received around $1.3 billion in public funding in the 2022-2023 fiscal year — also announced Monday it will reduce its English and French programming budgets for the next fiscal year and cut about $40 million from independent production commissions and program acquisitions. CBC programming will take a $25 million hit and Radio-Canada will see a $15 million reduction.
Layoffs always mean a watered down product. Sorry for the people losing their jobs.