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BCE Inc. is laying off nearly 700 non-unionized employees, including 650 management positions across Bell Canada and 40 roles in Bell Media.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
BCE Inc. BCE-T is laying off nearly 700 non-unionized employees as part of its three-year strategy to reduce leverage and focus on growth areas, the latest in a series of job cuts in the telecom sector.
The layoffs include approximately 650 management positions across Bell Canada, representing just under 2 per cent of its total work force excluding Bell Media, and 40 roles at Bell Media, representing just under 1 per cent of the subsidiary’s employees, the telecom and media company said in a statement Thursday afternoon.
The Bell Media cuts are “predominantly” in corporate departments, the company said, as opposed to on-air talent. They include four news management roles based in Toronto.
The telecom sector has been under pressure in recent years, as government cuts to immigration levels have curtailed the market’s growth and as the country’s largest carriers have focused on paying down their heavy debt loads.
BCE is contending with sluggish top-line growth and $35-billion in long-term debt as of Sept. 30. In May, executives halved the dividend payout – widely seen as unsustainable – in order to allocate that cash elsewhere.
BCE dividend likely on hold for three years while company prioritizes growth areas
As of midafternoon Thursday, the company’s shares were down 14.4 per cent year-over-year on the Toronto Stock Exchange and 3.6 per cent since the beginning of 2025.
“We regularly assess and make changes to our team structure. As a result, we made the difficult but necessary decision to reduce the number of non-unionized management positions across the company to better align our team structure with our growth plan,” said BCE spokesperson Luc Levasseur in Thursday’s statement.
“We know this is difficult for those who are impacted and we are supporting each person affected,” Mr. Levasseur said. “We thank all departing employees for their dedication and contributions.”
The company said it is continuing to invest in its strategic priority areas to expand the business.
As part of its three-year plan, it is betting on its artificial-intelligence division to fuel growth, as well as the expansion of its U.S. fibre internet division. It also recently announced it will be increasing its footprint into Western Canada, offering wholesale internet over rival Telus Corp.’s fibre network.
According to the company’s latest annual report, BCE had a total of 40,390 employees – 35,426 in its communications and technology segments and 4,964 in its media division.
Last year it reduced its work force by 4,800 positions, its largest restructuring initiative in nearly 30 years.
In February, the company offered severance packages to 1,200 unionized employees across Canada, saying the offers were the result of unprecedented challenges facing Canada’s telecommunications industry, as well as organizational initiatives that led to reduced workloads requiring fewer positions.
Around the same time, Telus offered buyouts to 700 employees across Canada, also citing a reduction in workload owing to technological enhancements of its network.
In April, Rogers Communications Inc. told about 400 technicians and managers that they had the option to sign a contract with Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson, which would then act as a contractor for Rogers, or take a severance package.
In July, Rogers ended a contract with an external customer-service company, saying it was embracing digital tools instead. That resulted in hundreds of job losses.
And in September, Ericsson laid off about 100 of the technical employees it had hired from Rogers, citing a need to streamline costs and a broader strategy to consolidate its global work force.
