Last week, La Presse announced that it will complete its digital transformation on January 1, 2016, by replacing the Monday-to-Friday print edition of the newspaper with La Presse+. Today, La Presse announces a workforce reduction due to the ending of the weekday print edition of La Presse, the adoption of a digital model, and the crisis faced by the media in general.
This staff reduction will affect 102 permanent and 56 temporary positions, for a total of 158 jobs. The positions affected include unionized, non-unionized and management jobs and are from all sectors of the company. The employees affected will be met today and will have access to support measures. The departures will be determined in accordance with current collective agreements, including seniority. Almost all of these departures will take place in three months, for January 2016. After this workforce reduction, La Presse will have 633 permanent employees.
In 2011, La Presse decided to invest heavily in developing, deploying and marketing the La Presse+ application while simultaneously operating two platforms: the print version of La Presse and the La Presse+ app. To meet demand, it hired a significant number of new employees. Today, La Presse is returning to an environment with a single primary platform, in a new business model. After the departures, its permanent workforce will be back to its 2011 level across the organization.
"The decision to end the weekday print edition of La Presse this coming January and the change in our business model have inevitably affected our labour force needs. As a result, we are regretfully announcing today a workforce reduction at La Presse," explained Guy Crevier, President and Publisher of La Presse.
Today's announcement affects 43 newsroom positions. Mr. Crevier added: "In spite of these departures, La Presse will still have the largest newsroom in Québec, with 283 permanent and temporary employees, compared with 239 in 2011. It is one of the few newsrooms in North America to have increased staffing over the past five years. With our 100% digital model during the week, the company now has a viable business model and solid foundations".
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