2016.10.20 | NEWS RELEASE

 

More job cuts won’t solve Postmedia’s problems

OTTAWA — CWA Canada, the country's only all-media union, says Postmedia should drop its ill-advised plan to cut more jobs as it struggles under a self-created mountain of debt.

Postmedia CEO Paul Godrey announced today that corporate revenue was down 13.7 per cent in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016 and that the company is offering voluntary buyouts to help cut operating costs.

Postmedia blames shrinking print advertising for its woes but the biggest factor is its debt, which stands at a whopping $648 million.

“Let’s be clear: Cutting more jobs will not bring prosperity to Postmedia which is already cut to the bone,” CWA Canada President Martin O’Hanlon said.

“This ‘let’s-do-more-with-less” plan has failed repeatedly as the company races to the bottom. The real problem with Postmedia is its debt and the fact that the company exists solely to funnel money to hedge fund lenders who keep the CEO in their pocket with big bonuses.”

CWA Canada is once again calling on the federal government to take action before it’s too late to prevent Postmedia from destroying the country’s major daily newspapers. The union is urging legislation or regulations to limit concentration of media ownership and prevent destructive leveraged takeovers of important national companies.

Last January, Postmedia, which holds a near monopoly on English-language newspapers across most of Canada, fired 90 journalists and merged its papers in four markets: Ottawa, Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton. Prior to that, the company had already cut more than half its staff and slashed newsroom budgets.

 

About CWA Canada

CWA Canada represents about 6,000 workers at companies such as the CBC, The Canadian Press, Thomson Reuters and many Postmedia publications.

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For interviews or more information, contact:

Martin O'Hanlon
President, CWA Canada
613-820-8460
mohanlon@cwa-scacanada.ca