Lisa LaFlamme speaks out about latest Bell Media layoffs

@lisalaflamme_/X | ACHPF/Shutterstock

Former CTV National News anchor Lisa LaFlamme has spoken out about the latest round of Bell Media layoffs.

On Thursday, BCE Inc. President and CEO Mirko Bibic announced in an open letter that 4,800 jobs (9% of Bell’s total workforce) would be cut and that the company would sell 45 of its 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,” he wrote.

Sources within the CTV newsroom confirmed with Daily Hive that several key CTV National News reporters were affected by the Bell Media layoffs.

CTV noon and weekend news shows in Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver were also shut down as part of the shake-up.

LaFlamme shared a post on X Thursday evening in solidarity with those who lost their jobs.

“From BC’s coastal mountains, I am thinking of dear friends and former colleagues on this painful and difficult day in television news across our country,” she wrote. “So many suddenly out of work tonight. At these moments, home and family are our rock.”

From BC’s coastal mountains,
I am thinking of dear friends and former colleagues on this painful and difficult day in television news across our country. So many suddenly out of work tonight. At these moments, home and family are our rock. #strength pic.twitter.com/YtsmGaM79L

— Lisa LaFlamme (@LisaLaFlamme_) February 8, 2024

Canadians flooded the veteran journalist’s X replies with similar sentiments.

This comes less than a year after Bell Media’s last round of layoffs in June 2023, slashing 1,300 jobs.

That round of layoffs saw many well-known CTV National reporters and producers cut, including Glen McGregor, Daniele Hamamdjian, Tom Walters, and Rosa Hwang, to name a few.

It also comes close to two years after LaFlamme’s sudden ousting from CTV National News.

Canadians have been expressing their frustrations on social media towards this latest round of Bell Media layoffs.

Bibic explained that the company’s operating environment has become more complicated and faces regulatory challenges in a tough economy.

Of the 45 radio stations being sold, 21 are in BC, 12 are in Ontario, seven are in Quebec, and five are in Atlantic Canada. A complete list of them can be found here.

With files from Imaan Sheikh

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