Huge cuts sought at Shaw

Photo: Contributed

Sweeping cuts are coming to one of Canada's largest media companies.

Shaw Communications announced Tuesday that 6,500 Shaw and Freedom Mobile employees have been offered voluntary departure package as part of a “total business transformation initiative."

The buyouts will be offered from Jan. 31 to Feb. 14 "to give selected employees the opportunity to think critically about their future with the company, and make realistic decisions about their role in Shaw's evolution,” the company said in a press release.

President Jay Mehr said customers want their services to be just like everything else in their life – delivered quickly, reliably and on their terms.

Details of the packages have not been disclosed, but Shaw called them "generous."

The company is expecting a 10 per cent take-up of the packages.

"This is a program that is intended to reduce our workforce while not penalizing employees for our operational transformation. As we reinvent our customer delivery model to be more digital, online, or e-care, we're very pleased to offer generous packages to our team members throughout the organization who have built this company," Mehr said.

An Okanagan Shaw employee posted on Reddit Monday, saying all full-time staff except sales were offered the package.

“The problem we're having with this is that even if we decline the severance package, we have been told that there is a good possibility we will get laid off anyway,” the anonymous Reddit user said. 

Shaw employees in the Okanagan have been impacted, but the exact number was not provided when Castanet spoke to a Shaw spokesperson.