Roughly 200 employees are getting the axe at CanWest MediaWorks, which on Thursday announced plans to restructure its news operations in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary and Toronto.

The broadcaster says it will, starting next spring, set up new broadcast centers in those cities to ‘improve operational efficiencies’ at its Global and E! stations, and to speed the arrival of HD to its news operations. The restructuring will add some 50 new jobs at the centers but, once complete, will eliminate approximately 200 jobs elsewhere across the country.

The first center, in Vancouver, is slated to open in the spring. The others are due over the next 18 months.

The cuts are the latest and apparently largest in a wave of layoffs and shufflings that have swept broadcasters this fall, following a series of takeovers that saw CanWest and its U.S. partner Goldman Sachs purchase Alliance Atlantis earlier this year, though the $2.3-billion deal has yet to win CRTC approval. CTVglobemedia, new owners of most of what was CHUM, rearranged its executives earlier this week, while top people continue to exit Alliance. Corus Entertainment also recently announced 53 layoffs.

The Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union, which represents about 1,000 employees at CanWest, was quick to denounce the move, calling it ‘yet another sign that big broadcasters are deserting the very communities they purport to serve.’

‘It’s outrageous,’ said union exec Peter Murdoch in a release, adding, ‘in some cities, audiences will actually see a reduction in newsgatherers.’ Murdoch says the union is considering filing a complaint with the CRTC.

CanWest says it will continue to deliver local news, noting that staff in each market will continue to turn out content, though its statement has more to say about the advent of HD and other technologies.

‘We are working towards becoming a leading-edge, HD-ready operation by upgrading our equipment to meet the demands of the changing broadcast environment,’ said Christine McGinley, SVP of station operations.

‘With this dramatic new technology, we will ensure our long-term success as a homegrown new gathering operation,’ added Steve Wyatt, SVP of news and information gathering.