"It’s just not a viable business anymore."That’s how Bell Media is describing its latest move to slash 4,800 jobs and sell off 45 of its 103 regional radio stations across the country.The affected stations are in BC, Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada. Most employees were notified on Thursday morning although other positions and contractors will be determined later in the spring..It also owns the Globe and Mail.The company said it would use vacancies and natural attrition to minimize head counts, which represent about 9% of its workforce.In a news release, it blamed the CRTC for what it called discriminatory regulatory policies that affected both its network buildout and media programming. It was unsuccessful in appealing recent decisions to share its fibre network before it was even built, as well as a forced renewal of its broadcasting licences despite a request for a Canadian content waiver.“Directly as a result of federal government policies, we plan a significant reduction in 2024 capital expenditures,” it said. Bell chief legal officer Robert Malcolmson told the Canadian Press: “It’s really the current regulatory and public policy environment that’s causing profound structural change and that we have to mitigate through the measures we’re announcing today,” he said. “It’s just not a viable business anymore.”It’s the largest reorganization of the company’s workforce in 30 years and is expected to result in about $150 million in immediate cost savings and $350 million annually. On Thursday it reported 23% lower fourth quarter earnings even as it hiked its dividend nearly 4%.It’s also the second major layoff in less than a year when Bell shut nine radio stations, including CFRN 1260 in Edmonton..In related announcements, CTV News announced it is cutting its long-running news program W5 and eliminating all local CTV noon and weekend newscasts.The latter prompted outrage from BC Premier David Eby who accused Bell of the “crapification” of local news outlets. “Like corporate vampires they sucked the life out of them, laying off journalists… and now they say it's no longer economically viable to run these local radio stations. It's no longer economically viable to have investigative news. They were allowed to do this,” he fumed.“The impact on communities in British Columbia of their unrestrained corporate greed… is profound. The fact they cannot find it possible to operate a few local news stations in British Columbia to ensure people get accurate, impartial, reliable information in an age of disinformation and social media craziness is such an abandonment of any idea of corporate responsibility, I find it reprehensible.”
