20081216/节食瘦身,太阳传媒全加裁员六百

Sun papers publisher to cut 10 per cent of staff, 600 jobs across Canada
Tue Dec 16, 2:24 PM

By David Friend, The Canadian Press

TORONTO – 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. (TSX: QBR-B.TO), 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.

Company spokeswoman Isabelle Dessureault said that expected savings from the staff reduction will be revealed when the company releases its annual report in April.

The company declined to specify how the layoffs would be divided amongst its operations but Dessureaultsaid “everyone is touched” by the changes, which include Sun-branded newspapers across the country and other local papers.

Mail room operations, for which staff count fluctuates based on volume, will not be directly affected by the cuts.

“We believe that the remaining staff will be able to be totally committed to the product,” said Dessureault.

“Of course, we’ll have to do things differently,” she said, adding that the newspaper industry “has to adapt.”

Changes at the dailies have not been fully drafted yet, but the plan is expected to include more shared content between the local papers, which means fewer reporters covering national and international stories and in other sections, such as sports.

Quebecor said the cuts are a needed response to a major shift in the print media industry, including the growing popularity of the Internet. The economic slowdown, rising costs and falling advertising revenues were also major factors behind the cuts.

Other major Canadian media companies have been making similar reductions at their operations.

Rogers Communications Inc. (TSX: RCI-B.TO) laid off an unspecified number of employees in its media division, which includes television, publishing and digital operations as well as employees of the Toronto Blue Jays.

Last month, CTV cut about 105 positions, mostly at its “music and youth” channels MuchMusic, MuchMoreMusic and MTV Canada, as well as the CTV News division.

And Canwest Global Communications Corp. (TSX: CGS.TO) slashed 560 positions, or about five per cent of its workforce.

On Tuesday, Detroit’s two newspapers – the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News – announced plans to cut nine per cent of their staff and reduce the number of days of home delivery.

“With an economy in crisis, we need solid, diverse reportage and points of view,” said Peter Murdoch of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers union.

“As media corporations slash their workforce that information flow is being seriously eroded.”

Brad Honywill, local president of the Southern Ontario Newspaper Guild, which represents more than 700 Sun Media staff, says he’s worried that job cuts will cripple the local media.

“These cutbacks mean there will be more and more shared stories and, consequently, less local news,” he said in a release.

“It’s our hope, and Sun Media’s responsibility, to restore these jobs when the economy improves.”

Despite the layoffs at Sun Media, Peladeau said investments will continue to be made into the business.

“We have a responsibility to offer Canadians the type of news coverage they are entitled to expect from the country’s largest newspaper publisher, which is to say high-quality journalism focused on local news and exclusive features that meets changing consumer needs and habits,” he said.

“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.”

Last month, Peladeau stepped into the lead position of Sun Media Corp. and the Canoe online operation following what the company called a “disappointing” third quarter.

Quebecor reported that its newspaper operating income fell 13.3 per cent to $52.1 million.

With Peladeau at the helm of both print and Internet media it’s expected that he’ll encourage a melding of both media over the coming months – though Dessureault said such a move is”not for now.”

She also downplayed the chance of future cuts, saying that the company is doing what’s necessary at this time.

“We do not think that it will be required to take these decisions later on in addition, but we don’t know what the future holds in terms of economic slowdown,” Dessureault said.

Sun Media publishes 43 paid-circulation and free dailies under the Sun, Osprey Media and 24 Hours banners and more than 200 community newspapers, shopping guides and other speciality publications.

It is also involved in the operation of SUN TV, a general-interest television station in Toronto.

Parent company Quebecor’s shares fell 14 cents, just over one per cent, to $14.99 in morning trading at the Toronto stock market.

2 Comments

  1. jackjia (Post author)

    加拿大媒体业迎来寒冬 最大报业集团大裁员

    中国新闻网/随着经济环境日益恶化,加拿大媒体业也迎来寒冬。十六日,加拿大最大的报纸出版商太阳报媒体集团宣布,将在加拿大西部、安大略省和魁北克省总共削减六百个工作职位。

    太阳报集团并不是第一家裁员的媒体公司,另一传媒巨头罗杰斯集团也解雇了包括电视、出版业和电子媒体的部分员工。而刚在上个月,加拿大电视台削减了一百零五个职位,加西环讯传媒集团动作更大,一次性削减五百六十个职位,占其全部人工的百分之五。

    太阳报集团母公司行政总裁皮拉度表示,此次裁员占全部员工的一成,大部分将在今年年底前完成。皮拉度认为,经济危机导致公司做出如此艰难的决定,但这也是应对当前印刷产业巨变、网络越发流行的一种必然举措。他说,“新闻媒体的变革不等人。如果我们还想要在这个行业中保持领先地位,我们就必须顺应时势。”

    据悉,太阳报集团认为,媒体接下来的发展重点在于网络。皮拉度认为,“我们需要在电子领域扩张并建立品牌,并且尽快完成这种转变。我们需要让消费者在他们选择的平台中获取信息。”

    当地业界人士称,经济放缓、成本增加以及不断下滑的广告收入是加媒体产业衰退的主要原因。太阳报系在全加拿大发行四十多种全国性的报纸以及二百多种社区报、购物指南和其它专业刊物。而根据专业公司的最新调查报告,该报集团运营在过去一年下降百分之十三点三。

    加媒体大量裁员导致业界普遍性的担心。传媒、能源和报业工人工会表示,虽然面对经济危机,但社会更需要稳固、多元的报道和观点。而随着人工减少,信息量也会跟着骤减。

  2. jackjia (Post author)

    报业裁员开始:太阳传媒裁600员工,占10%

    (加拿大新闻商业网www.newnews.ca 12月16日讯)经济衰退令平面媒体率先吃不消,加拿大最大的报业集团之一-太阳传媒(Sun Media)今天宣布,将在全国范围裁减600名员工,包括加拿大西部地区、安省和魁省,此举是为了对抗持续低迷的经济而采取的架构重整计划。

    太阳传媒由魁省传媒巨子 Quebecor Inc. (TSX:QBR.B)所拥有,总部在蒙特利尔,该集团周二宣布将裁减大约10%的员工,大部分被裁减的员工都在今年底离开公司。

    太阳传媒首席行政官Pierre Karl Peladeau在新闻稿中表示,新的工业蓬勃兴起对传统工业造成巨大冲击,我们必需适应这种形势,才能保持业界龙头地位。我们必需在环球数码时代建立自己的品牌,越快越好,必需让顾客从自己喜欢的媒体中获得信息。

    裁员可以为集团节省大约1400万元的开支。

    太阳传媒没有具体说明会裁减那些部门的员工。

    太阳传媒的母公司Quebecor称,印刷媒体面对互联网的巨大冲击,加上经济衰退、营运成本上升、及广告减少,都是促使公司裁员的原因。

    其它加国媒体也相继采取了类似的裁员行动,罗渣士通讯不久前裁减了传媒部门的员工,数目不详,包括电视、印刷和数码运行,罗渣士拥有的蓝鸟棒球队也进行了裁员行动。

    上个月,CTV电视裁减了105个职位,大部分是音乐金额青少年节目频道;

    加西环球通讯集团( Canwest Global Communications Corp)大举裁减了560个工作职位,相当于集团5%的员工。

    今天下午,底特律2份主要报纸:底特律自由新闻报和底特律新闻宣布裁减9%的员工,而且减少了每天早晨的送报服务。

    南安省报业工会代表 Honywill对不断有媒体裁员感到担心,主要是担心本地媒体质量会严重下降。

    太阳传媒表示,尽管公司采取裁员行动,但是并不妨碍继续投资。

    太阳传媒属下包括43份付费报纸和免费网络服务,还有超过200份社区报纸、购物指南和其它特殊印刷品。

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