Canada's biggest newspaper publisher, Sun Media, is cutting 600 jobs in Western Canada, Ontario and Quebec as it restructures in the face of harsh economic conditions.
The chain, owned by Montreal-based media giant Quebecor Inc., said Tuesday the cuts will trim about 10 per cent of its workforce and most will fall by the end of the year.
"The news industry is being revolutionized and we have to adapt if we want to remain an industry leader," CEO Pierre Karl Peladeau said in a release.
"We need to build a presence and build our brand in the digital universe and we need to do it as quickly as possible. We have to let customers get the information they want on the platform of their choice."
Peladeau said the economic environment is deteriorating quickly, which forced the publisher to make "difficult decisions" at this time of year. The move is expected to result in restructuring costs of about $14 million.
The Toronto Sun Family blog has identified the newsroom casualties there: 16 staffers and eight part-timers. It had this to say:
You can blame the job cuts more on a lack of focus, an abandonment on the successful tabloid formula that set the Toronto Sun and its siblings apart from the broadsheets and minimalist management than on the economic downturn.
Photos of Sun staffers who have lost their jobs would be appreciated. Let's put faces to all of the names mentioned on this sad, sad day for Sun Media.
The Globe and Mail has this take on the strategy of the move:
When Pierre Karl Péladeau stepped in as head of Sun Media Corp. last month, it was evident a major restructuring of Quebecor Inc. [QBR.A-T]'s newspaper division was at hand.
With Quebecor otherwise consumed by its expansion into the cellphone market, such direct attention from the parent company's chief executive officer was unusual.
His first move came yesterday when Quebecor announced 600 layoffs across the Sun Media operations, which comprise 43 newspapers, including the Sun tabloid chain and dozens of titles in Ontario and Quebec. The cuts will reduce the division's work force by 10 per cent. The company did not say how much it will save.
It is the second round of cutbacks at the company in two years, and may precede a broader shift at Sun Media to drive content online and save newsprint costs. The move comes as Quebecor's competitors, including CanWest Global Communications Corp. [CGS-T] and CTVglobemedia Inc., have cut jobs in the face of an economic slowdown that is causing ad revenues to dry up. ...
“The cuts are broad and they are deep,” said Brad Honywill, president of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union local that represents staff at the Toronto Sun. The flagship paper in the Sun chain was affected most with 27 full- and part-time jobs cut, he said.
According to a chart accompanying the story, Quebecor stocks have lost more than half their value since January 2008.
And finally, this cheery bit of news for newspaper industry death-watchers:
Concerns about a prolonged advertising slump loom over the industry. A survey of 422 newspaper executives in Canada and the U.S. by Toronto-based Kubas Consultants indicates all major categories of advertising are expected to decline next year.
The deepest drop could come in employment classifieds, falling 16 per cent, the survey projects. The only exception is online advertising, which is forecast to rise more than 13 per cent. The survey notes increases in online revenues will not make up for drops in other categories.