Bell Media CEO and execs called to testify in Ottawa over recent mass layoffs

Top executives at Bell Media have been called to testify in front of a parliamentary committee later this month over its recent mass layoffs.

The House of Commons heritage committee has summoned BCE Inc. President and CEO Mirko Bibic, Bell Media President Sean Cohan, and CFO Curtis Millen, along with a handful of other execs.

The hearing will address the 4,800 jobs that the telecom giant cut last Thursday, which is 9% of its workforce.

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Newsrooms across the country were gutted as more big names at CTV National News were axed.

CTV noon and weekend news shows in Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver were also shut down as part of the Bell Media layoffs, plus the sale of 45 radio stations.

“Restructuring decisions are incredibly tough for all of us because it affects the people we work with and care about. We know these decisions are hardest on those leaving Bell,” Bibic wrote in an open letter.

Liberal members of parliament motioned to invite the company’s executives on February 29. The motion was supported by the NDP and Bloc Quebecois. Conservative MPs abstained from voting.

In the open letter last week, Bibic explained that the company’s operating environment has become more complicated, and it faces regulatory challenges in a tough economy.

“Of particular concern is a recent decision by the CRTC forcing Bell to provide third-party resellers access to our high-speed fibre network before we have even had an opportunity to recoup our multibillion-dollar investment,” he said, referring to the November 6 decision.