Unifor has confirmed that nearly two dozen of its members have been offered buyout packages and another six media workers it represents laid off at Bell Media.

The departures are part of ongoing staff reductions at Bell Media, initially confirmed last week.

“As part of Bell Media’s ongoing transformation to a digital media and content leader, we can confirm that 98 positions are impacted, predominantly in service and corporate departments,” a Bell Media spokesperson told Broadcast Dialogue. “Included in the total are 44 union roles, with the majority being offered voluntary separation packages by Bell Media.”

The spokesperson said no CTV News journalists were affected by the changes or news programs cancelled.

A Unifor spokesperson said the union is concerned that the network “continues to chip away at newsrooms at a time when we need independent Canadian news reporting more than ever.”

According to the union, since January 2023, the company has cut 322 Unifor journalists and media workers in seven rounds of layoffs.