off 25% of staff

Montreal: Radio-Quebec president Jean Fortier says the public broadcaster had no choice in laying off nearly a quarter of its employees.

At a May 16 press conference, Fortier announced that 164 employees, out of a total of 731, will be laid off in the coming weeks and months. The payroll cuts will save about $6 million a year.

Union representatives at Radio-Quebec had hoped the layoffs would be done through attrition, and called the management announcement ‘a call to war’ and ‘a catastrophe.’

Personnel in all departments will be affected by the cuts especially production and non-union staff.

Despite the massive layoffs, Radio-Quebec still faces a current shortfall of $12 million. More cuts are anticipated. LRB