Rogers Communications says it is offering voluntary severance packages to roughly half its employees as it tries to cut costs.
Company spokesperson Zac Carreiro said Rogers was taking steps to adjust its cost structure “to reflect the business realities of the current environment.”
“As part of this, some teams have chosen to offer voluntary departure and retirement programs to give some employees the choice to decide whether they’d like to stay with the company or begin a new chapter,” he said.
Last week, Rogers announced first quarter earnings had risen to $482 million, up from $280 million in the first quarter of 2025, which the company attributed to lower borrowing costs.
Employees of Rogers-controlled Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, Toronto Blue Jays and Sportsnet aren’t eligible for the voluntary severance offer. The offer, first reported in the Globe and Mail, is going out to roughly 10,000 employees.
While the company wouldn’t specify how many employees it expects to accept the offer, a recent study from HR consulting firm Mercer said most voluntary severance packages are accepted by roughly 10 per cent of eligible employees.
Asked if Rogers would consider layoffs if not enough employees accept the voluntary severance offer, a spokesperson didn’t rule it out.
“We will continually assess and review our business needs,” the spokesperson said.
In a research report following news of the Rogers offer, telecommunications analyst Jerome Dubreuil noted that the company announced just last week that it would be cutting its 2026 capital spending by $800 million.
Without details of just how much employees are being offered to go away, it’s hard to tell how many will be tempted by the offer, Dubreuil said, but he suggested it could be more popular than the company expects, if history is any example.
In 2018, Dubreuil pointed out, Shaw Communications saw 3,300 employees accept a voluntary severance package, more than five times what the company had expected.
“Although this caused short-term operational risk and near-term share price underperformance, it ultimately led to meaningfully improved profitability,” Dubreuil said. Shaw ended up taking a one-time financial hit of $450 million to pay for the buyout, but ended up saving $225 million a year in costs because of it, he noted.
Rogers is far from alone in cutting costs, Dubreuil noted, including Telus slashing 6,000 employees in 2023, and BCE shedding 4,800 in 2024, in addition to the Shaw buyout.
According to the company’s own public filings, Rogers Communications has roughly 25,000 total employees. Approximately 3,000 work at MLSE, with another 2,000 or so working for the Blue Jays and Sportsnet.
Rogers owns 75 per cent of Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment, with Kilmer Sports Inc. owning 25 per cent. (The Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, in turn, owns 20 per cent of KSI.) Rogers said last week that it expects to buy Kilmer’s 25 per cent share of MLSE later this year.
In 2025, MLSE laid off 10 per cent of its own employees.
Last year, Rogers closed a deal to buy BCE’s 37.5 per cent stake in MLSE, paying $4.7 billion to take control of the growing sports empire.
