Today's late breaking news about 120 job cuts in the Sun media chain have the denizens of Church Avenue in a bit of a state, understandably, this evening.The Globe reports that "Roughly 30 of the job cuts, which include 13 union positions, will come in Toronto. The rest will be spread over operations in Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg as well as at the London Free Press. The two Sun papers in Quebec are not affected."
"Cuts in the chain's editorial staff will hit reporters, editors, photographers, librarians, researchers, freelancers and some managers," says the CBC.
Canadian Press quotes Brad Honywill, president of the Southern Ontario Newsmedia Guild, as saying: "People were incredulous that on the one hand they were trying to bill this as a commitment to gathering news content, at the same as they were saying they are eliminating jobs,"
It will be interesting to read if Tom Bunk-beck has anything to say about this development, considering his conversion from a mere cynic to Conservative apologist and arch anti-unionist (we have heard from some of his incredulous colleagues that in the late 1990s he was an avid supporter of the Winnipeg Sun union's near-strike over wages and benefits).
Alas, we trust his current religion has endeared him enough to his betters that he will be spared some private sector reality.