Sun Media Corporation has eliminated 500 positions throughout its operation and closed production facilities in Ottawa and Kingston in what it described as “restructuring initiatives for sustainable growth.”
The moves, along with other so-called “optimization initiatives” to be implemented in coming months, are expected to produce annual cost savings of $45 million for the country’s largest newspaper chain – which operates 43 dailies and 250 community papers.
In a release, Sun Media president and CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau called the restructuring “regrettable,” but said it was necessary in the face of changes in the newspaper industry that are forcing the company to “align our cost structure with the new reality.”
Revenues for Quebecor Inc.’s news media division – the company’s second biggest unit after its Videotron cable division – were $227.6 million for the three months ended Sept. 30, down 3.2% from year-earlier earnings.
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