Union says 55 jobs lost at Global News
Shaw Communications laid off 55 Unifor members who worked at Global News as part of its restructuring program. Staff in Alberta and B.C. were the most hard hit, the union said.
By Tamara Baluja, Associate Editor
Shaw Communications laid off 55 Unifor members who worked at Global News.
The company announced 400 layoffs across the country as part of its restructuring program. Unifor, the union that represents staff at Global News, said operations in Alberta and B.C. were the most hard hit, with 25 job losses in B.C., 24 in Alberta, one in Manitoba, three in Toronto, and another two in Halifax.
J-Source reported on the initial layoffs announcement, but the memo sent to Global News employees was short on specifics and Shaw Media declined to comment.
The union notice sheds more light on the layoffs.
All graphics functions in the west are being transferred to Toronto, and construction has begun on the new centralized graphic department. There were significant job losses at Global Lethbridge “as that location is being restructured in what the company calls a new production model for smallmarket stations,” the union notice stated.
“Our members have dedicated their careers to making Global TV an industry leader, this is devastating news for them and their families,” said Curtis Britton, president of Unifor Local M1.
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Tamara Baluja is an award-winning journalist with CBC Vancouver and the 2018 Michener-Deacon fellow for journalism education. She was the associate editor for J-Source from 2013-2014.