14 June 2023 – Bell has shutdown of 6 AM radio stations across Canada today, and is cutting 1,300 jobs, or 6% of its workforce.

The eliminated positions equate to a six per cent cut at Bell Media. Bell blames the job cuts on “unfavourable public policy and regulatory conditions that it can no longer outwait.”

Bell will move to a “single newsroom approach across brands, allowing for greater collaboration and efficiency,” said Richard Gray, vice-president of news at Bell Media, in an internal memo distributed to staff Wednesday morning.

Robert Malcolmson Bell’s chief legal and regulatory officer said the company can’t afford to continue operating it’s various brands, including CTV National News, BNN, CP24, local TV news stations and radio independently of one another. Rosa Hwang, executive producer, CTV National News and CTV News, has been relieved of her duties. The LA & UK bureaus have bene closed and the Washington bureau is being scaled back. Off air as of today are:

1290 AM Winnipeg
1060 AM Calgary
TSN AM Edmonton
BNN Bloomberg 1410 Vancouver
Funny 1040 Vancouver
NewsTalk 1290 London ON

1150 AM Hamilton 820 AM Hamilton 580 AM Windsor have been sold to an undisclosed third party, subject to CRTC approval.

Our thoughts are with those broadcasters’ and their families impacted by this mass layoff.