Corus Entertainment has confirmed it’s centralizing production for its Global News stations in Calgary and Edmonton.
As previously reported, the company started undertaking a new round of layoffs this week that will impact an unknown number of Global News and Corus Radio personalities.
In an update released to Broadcast Dialogue Thursday morning, Corus confirmed it will be centralizing television production in Toronto.
“Corus is committed to local news, and will maintain its local news delivery in Calgary and Edmonton. While some roles have been impacted as we centralize production, we are adding additional roles to continue providing news programming in these markets,” the statement said. “As a result of these changes, we have had to say goodbye to some of our Global News personalities – we greatly appreciate their time with us and wish them the best in their future endeavours.”
In a previous statement, the company said the changes were part of “ongoing efforts to strengthen and sustain our news and audio divisions.”
“These changes are designed to improve efficiency, support long-term sustainability, and allow us to continue supporting high-quality journalism and audio programming for our audiences,” a spokesperson said.
The new round of layoffs comes as the company continues to seek necessary approvals to move forward with a recapitalization plan that would save Corus up to $40 million in annual cash interest payments and cut its third-party debt and other liabilities by over $500 million.
Last month, a group of minority shareholders formally filed its opposition, urging the CRTC to demand full transparency or reject the plan entirely.
Corus stock was trading at 0.04 cents on the TSX Thursday morning.
