Global News lays off 80 staff across Canada

Corus-owned Global News has just confirmed 80 layoffs across Canada with 21 cuts in Vancouver and three in Kelowna.

Unifor is concerned the cuts will continue to impact camera operators, reporters, anchors, control room staff and other production crews and wants the federal government to take action.

“Fewer journalists will be out gathering news from every region from Vancouver to Halifax,” said Unifor's national president, Jerry Dias. “If the Maritime newscasts now come from Toronto - how can you still call that local news?”

As broadcast revenues continue to decline, Corus is moving to a digital platform and adding positions in online news.

“In Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, the evening local news will no longer be produced at our Halifax studios and will be anchored and broadcast from Toronto starting Monday,” said David MacPherson, president of the Maritimes unit of Unifor local M1 which represents workers at Global. “Our studios will be empty after the morning show ends at 9 a.m.”

Last year the CRTC changed the former obligation of Canadian Broadcasters to air local TV news and removed any rules around providing on-the-ground coverage.

This means media companies are free to cover stories outside of their usual reporting location without having a local source.

"The federal government stood by while Canada's local newspapers struggled and now our members in TV news are being asked to do more to fill the same number of programming hours with fewer resources, all on this government’s watch,” said Dias. “The CRTC paved the way for the cuts announced today by watering down the obligations for big media companies like Corus to protect local news and it’s proving disastrous.”

Unifor wants the CRTC to make strong local coverage a binding condition of license, as part of the union’s ongoing #savelocalnews campaign.

For more information, visit Unifor.

Corus was not available to comment.