Media unit of Canada's Quebecor to cut 8 pct of workforce (updated)

TVA

02/11/2016 16:05

(Adds details from announcement, background) 
    TORONTO, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Quebecor Inc's  QBRb.TO  media 
subsidiary said on Wednesday that it will cut 220 jobs, nearly 8 
percent of its workforce, and cease publication of two magazines 
in a bid to slash costs, the latest in a string of layoffs in 
Canadian media. 
    Quebecor Media Group said the move would mostly affect 
managers, professionals and support staff, and would have no 
impact on its newsrooms or on news coverage across Quebec. 
    The move includes the loss of 125 jobs at the media group's 
subsidiary TVA Group Inc  TVAb.TO , one of the largest 
broadcasters and publishers of French-language content in North 
America and a major production company. 
    TVA Publications will no longer publish the Chez Soi and 
Tellement bon magazines, the media company said. 
    "In Quebec as elsewhere in the world, our industry is facing 
ongoing disruption," Julie Tremblay, chief executive of Quebecor 
Media Group and TVA Group Inc, said in a statement that did not 
estimate the likely cost of the restructuring or the scale of 
any expected savings. 
    The Canadian media industry is struggling to deal with 
falling advertising revenue and the migration of audiences to 
online outlets, with several of its biggest players recently 
offering buyouts to workers or cutting jobs amid sustained 
operating losses.  
    Rogers Communications Inc  RCIb.TO  in September said it 
will stop printing four of its biggest magazines next year and 
sell all its French-language and trade publications. 
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N1C613D 
    Quebecor said that it will incorporate its local newspaper 
advertising salespeople into a broader team dealing with 
national sales, media creativity and research, in a bid to 
better serve advertisers.  
 
 (Reporting by Alastair Sharp; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and 
Alan Crosby) 
 ((alastair.sharp@reuters.com; +1 416 941 8118; Reuters 
Messaging: alastair.sharp.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: QUEBECOR MEDIA/LAYOFFS