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CBC to Cut 800 Jobs, Facing $171 Million Shortfall (Updated)
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by Jarrett Martineau | March 26, 2009 at 08:08 am
562 views | 57 Recommendations | 11 comments
UPDATE | March 26, 2009: Richard Stursberg, the Executive Vice-President of CBC English Services, announced further details of the cuts to CBC television, radio, and online staff and programming on Thursday.
Stursberg acknowledged that the network is in a tremendously difficult financial crisis and is being forced to make severe cuts to its core programs and services.
“This is a really horrid situation.” Stursberg said. “It’s a very big cut… I don’t think we can underestimate the severity of what is happening.”
In CBC's news division, "a total of $7 million must be cut from the news division, including 80 jobs in radio news, current affairs and TV current affairs".
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In addition, many well-known CBC radio programs will be cancelled including:
- The Point
- Outfront
- The Signal (weekend edition)
- In the Key of Charles
- The Inside Track
CBC Radio also plans to do fewer live music production and recordings and make "more consolidations" with the popular online, independent Canadian music network CBC Radio 3.
On the television side, fewer episodes of the following shows will be ordered and produced:
- The Border.
- This Hour Has 22 Minutes.
- Being Erica.
- Little Mosque on the Prairie.
Additionally, television programs that have been cancelled (or placed on hiatus) include:
- Fashion File
- Steven & Chris (on hiatus)
- Living (all regional editions)
Television programs The Fifth Estate and Marketplace, which had already been scaled back by the network, will face further budget reductions.
In sports, CBC will see reductions in coverage of skating, soccer, aquatics, athletics skiing, and Toronto Blue Jays baseball games.
CBC's French Services divisions will also faces cuts:
[O]n the French side are the elimination of noon hour news shows in Quebec City, Ottawa, Moncton and Sherbrooke and reduction of the supper hour newscasts in those markets to half an hour from an hour.
The programs Vous êtes Ici and Macadam tribus have also been cancelled.
Lacroix also announced Radio Canada International will eliminate its Ukrainian and Cantonese services.
PREVIOUSLY — March 25, 2009:
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation President Hubert Lacroix addressed CBC staff Wednesday morning for of an internal "Town Hall Meeting" to address the troubled network's economic woes.
In a pre-recorded statement, Lacroix stated that CBC will be forced to cut 800 full-time employees to offset a $171 million budget shortfall.
The network also plans to sell $125 million in assets.
Here is the CBC's official news release on the cuts: CBC/Radio-Canada outlines 2009-2010 business plan; announces layoffs
“We need $171 million to balance our budget, which will mean 800 positions,” Lacroix said. The plan is to raise about $125 million through the sale of assets he said, and that the government will allow us to keep the proceeds of those sales. But even with those sales, balancing the books “still results in 800 positions,” Lacroix said.
The cuts will be made as follows:
The sale of assets depends on approval by the federal government. Lacroix did not say which assets would be sold.
The CBC is projecting 393 layoffs in its English services — including radio, TV and new media platforms — and 336 layoffs in French services. An additional 70 jobs will be lost at the corporate level.
Senior management will see a 20% reduction in take home pay — and corporate level cuts of 5% across the board.
Layoffs could begin as early as mid-May 2009 and continue until the beginning of September.
CBC managers will hold meetings Thursday to determine cuts to individual areas and departments.
CBC technology correspondent Tod Maffin also notes that there will be cuts to CBC Radio:
CBC Radio will be "cut substantially." No stations to close but programming will be cut. CBC seeking volunteers for pink-slipping.
20% of the cuts will be made to regional staff and programming while the rest will come "from the network", said Richard Stursberg, CBC's Vice-President of English Services.
Richard Stursberg, Vice-President of English Services, said “We’re going to have to cut as many as 400 people,” in English Services. He said he wants to maintain Radio One and Radio Two and grow their share without introducing advertising on radio. He also doesn’t want to lose the gains made in English Television or online.
But television will feel the cuts slightly more than radio, Stursberg said, however “the beef of the schedule remains largely intact.”
“About 20 per cent” of the cuts will fall on the regions he added. The rest will come from the network.
For additional updates to this story see the Inside the CBC liveblog and the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting liveblog
You can also follow reaction on Twitter via the #cbc hashtag.
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (11)
at 17:01 on March 26th, 2009
That is a LOT of money....
at 16:39 on March 25th, 2009
I agree with moon, this is unacceptable. Public independent News has to be maintained and funded.
at 14:06 on March 26th, 2009
Pashen, it.s not independent public news. They also compete for advertising dollars with the other two national networks CTV and Global. What they.re asking for is a make up of advertising shortfall. I would think if you perk up one you also have to perk up the rest. Both CTV and Global networks have to lay off workers because of shortfalls of advertising revenues.
at 16:46 on March 25th, 2009
There is no such thing as "public independent news".
at 16:47 on March 25th, 2009
Why not? I'm curious...
at 13:26 on March 26th, 2009
I will try to answer that question.
Because, we I learned in Social Psychology 101, there is no such thing as certifiable objectivity.
While statements can be ranked on a #1 through # 10 basis at a level of accuracy and repeatablity that exceeds scientific standards of being less than 5% from chance, the distance between the statements cannot be objectively measured in the same way.
So, the far right and the far left see the center as being against them, for example. Pseudo-objectivity is the result.
Similarly, the attempt to take the controversy out of the news kills the real value of the news story because taking the controversy out of the news story favors one interpretation over the other. Not OK for the press and super-not OK for a press done with the taxpayer dollar.
CNN, when it first came out, was very objective to my mind. All essential details were included on every story. I was impressed.
That never happens now due to time constraints, let alone whatever other prejudices influence the selection of details so as to make the story support a line of belief/propaganda.
The Baby Boomer idealists were not yet in charge of the system three decades ago. Now, they are and the generation raised on Boomer idealism is right there behind them.
at 07:22 on March 26th, 2009
Excellent coverage of this sad event. Thanks, Jarrett.
at 10:40 on March 26th, 2009
OMG! I guess my dreams of a remake of The Road to Avonlea are crushed! Oh the humanity!
at 20:01 on March 26th, 2009
Canada seems dead set to sabotage its own entertainment industry, as our pre- and postproduction services continue to serve as escort services to Los Angeles. A lot of it has to do with national identity: if we treat CanCon as an ongoing joke, a joke it shall remain. We have the talent, we have the infrastructure, we have the desire... but we don't have a government that treats commercial art as any sort of priority, and so we continue to fail.
Never mind the driver's seat, we're not even in the car.
at 20:09 on March 26th, 2009
Although I agree with the main point. The case of the CBC is different bacause the CBC is not a business; their "art" is not commercial due to the fact that they would not exist without tax dollars proping them up.
at 11:04 on April 1st, 2009
CBC is in an odd position (and I mean that in a good way.)
They're not married to their radio and television transmitters.
The common misconception is that they are but they can move all of their production to the web without any loss of focus to their cultural mission.
In fact they have already made the necessary technological development and investment in the IT infrastructure.
They can transition without losing their audience.
The CBC is in a much better position of survive the coming inevitable paradigm shift in broadcasting, which basically involves the death of broadcasting.
Someone with the stature of a Marshall McLuhan would be so handy right now. ALL media (print, audio and video,) are shifting to the web.
Instead, we have to look after Canada Post until the rise of the monatizable web. ('News' you pay for, 'olds' are Googleable. The post office will be the keeper of the RSS files. You pay, you can get access. You don't, you're stuck using Google.)