Approximately 400 jobs cut as a result of media industry shifts
2016 has already been a year with significant losses in traditional media sources, and another major cut has been announced by one of the largest media corporation in Canada. On Jan. 25, 2016, Rogers Media announced a workforce reduction of four per cent. This decision affects 200 jobs in television, publishing, administration and radio.
Rogers Media explained that the workforce reduction is a result of a desire to make the media company more efficient, by cutting production and operation costs. In an entertainment industry where traditional forms of revenue generations, like advertizing, no longer support larger corporations, media conglomerates like Rogers are feeling the need to slim down to keep up in a tumultuous industry.
“The media industry continues to experience significant pressures from a softening advertising market, fierce competition from global players, and shifting audience consumption habits,” said Andrea Goldstein, a spokeswoman for Rogers Media, in a statement on Jan. 25, 2016.
[pullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]…layoffs follows on the heels of other similar moves…[/pullquote]
There has been no official word given yet on which Rogers subsidiaries will be affected. Statements have only outlined the specific subsections of the company that will experience cuts.
Layoffs will begin in early February and will conclude “as soon as possible” according to Goldstein.
This series of layoffs follows on the heels of other similar moves by other Canadian media giants, Bell and Chorus. Both companies went through a similar slimming down of operations in the past year. These layoffs signal an uncertain future for traditional media publishing companies—not only in Canada, but across the world.
With streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime gaining prominence in Canada, traditional media sources are feeling pressure to keep up with the convenience and options available online. Streaming services not only afford convenience and choice to the consumer, but they also do away with the need for traditional advertising in the form of commercials.
Rogers has already entered the streaming service game in Canada, with the launch of Shomi. Shomi is a joint venture between Rogers and Shaw Communications, and is an online service that provides hundreds of television shows and movies through curated lists, instead of the traditional computer algorithm method employed by Netflix and other similar streaming platforms.
Shomi was initially only available to Rogers customers, or anyone willing to saddle up with a cable package. However, in August 2015, Rogers and Shaw decided to offer Shomi as a standalone streaming service.