Corus trims staff as losses mount
Corus Entertainment, one of Canada's largest media companies, has confirmed another round of job cuts, this time hitting Global BC, Global National, News 640 and its talk radio operations. A company spokesperson described the reductions as a "small number" of changes affecting select markets, though the news lands as Corus continues to post financial losses.
The Toronto-based company owns Global Television, along with a stable of specialty channels and radio stations across the country. It's been under sustained financial pressure for years as advertising dollars shift toward digital platforms and streaming services, squeezing the traditional TV and radio revenue that once kept newsrooms flush.
What's being cut
While Corus hasn't released a full breakdown of the roles affected, the cuts touch some of its flagship news operations, including Global National, the company's national newscast, and Global BC, its British Columbia affiliate. News 640, a talk radio station, is also affected, along with unspecified positions elsewhere in the talk radio division.
This isn't the first time Corus has trimmed staff. The company has gone through multiple rounds of layoffs in recent years as it works to manage its debt load and adjust to a shrinking traditional broadcast market. Each round tends to raise fresh concerns from media watchers and journalism advocates about the shrinking footprint of local and national news coverage in Canada.
Part of a bigger pattern
Corus isn't alone. Canadian media companies broadly have been shedding jobs for years as the industry grapples with declining ad revenue, the dominance of tech platforms like Google and Meta in the digital ad market, and rising costs. Bell Media, CBC and other major players have all announced their own cuts in recent years, prompting ongoing debate in Ottawa over how to support Canadian journalism.
The federal government has taken some steps to address the crunch, including the Online News Act, which requires tech giants to compensate Canadian news outlets for content shared on their platforms. But media organizations and unions have argued the support hasn't been enough to offset the structural decline in traditional advertising revenue.
What it means for viewers
For now, Corus says the cuts are limited in scope, and Global BC, Global National and News 640 will continue operating. But repeated rounds of layoffs at major broadcasters raise questions about the long-term capacity of Canadian newsrooms to keep covering local and national stories with the same depth as before.
As one of the country's most-watched national newscasts, Global National's staffing levels matter well beyond British Columbia — including here in Ottawa, where national broadcasters play a key role in covering federal politics and policy.
Source: CBC News
