Bell Canada Enterprises says it has “made the difficult but necessary decision” to reduce the number of non-unionized management positions across the company, laying off 650 managers, the company told the Star.
At the same time, subsidiary Bell Media is also cutting 40 positions, primarily on the corporate side — less than one per cent of its team — as part of its “ongoing transformation to a digital media and content leader,” the company said.
Four news management positions in Toronto are among the impacted roles.
The 650 positions being eliminated at BCE represent under two per cent of its workforce. The telecom company said the changes to its team structure are intended to advance its “three-year strategic plan focused on delivering sustainable growth across all key business units.”
“We know this is difficult for those who are impacted and we are supporting each person affected,” Bell said in a statement.
Of the Bell Media layoffs, the company said: “We thank all departing employees for their dedication and contributions.”
This latest round of layoffs continues a pattern of workforce reductions at Bell in recent years.
Earlier in February this year, Bell announced an “enhanced voluntary separation program” for around 1,200 unionized employees. Bell Media laid off nearly 100 workers later that month, most of whom were in Toronto and Montreal, the Star has learned.
In 2024, Bell cut 4,800 jobs — nine per cent of its workforce — across the country, marking its largest restructuring in almost 30 years. It also announced plans to sell 45 radio stations and close more than 100 The Source stores.
The company owns CTV, CTV News, TSN, CP24, and Crave, among other media assets. Bell CEO Mirko Bibic said last year that CTV’s conventional stations lost more than $180 million in 2023.
Bell also eliminated 1,300 positions in June 2023, saying at the time that it was moving toward “greater collaboration and efficiency” in how it delivers the news.
