Shaw Communications Offering Buyout Program to 6,500 Employees

Shaw Communications is offering buyouts to approximately half of its work force in the midst of a “total business transformation.” The move is aimed at reducing operating costs as more subscribers go online for customer support.

On Tuesday, the Calgary-based company confirmed that it has offered voluntary severance packages to 6,500 non-unionized employees of both Shaw and Freedom Mobile. The company is expecting a total of about 10 percent of those workers to accept the offer.

According to its 2017 annual report, the company has a total of 14,000 employees.

Shaw said the cuts are part of a multiyear initiative to “reinvent its operating model” as it reviews operations and internal processes across all parts of the cable and wireless company. In a statement, Shaw president Jay Mehr said:

“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.”

It bought Freedom Mobile in 2016, transforming Shaw into the country’s fourth-largest wireless company. The wireless carrier recently announced plans to close a call centre in Windsor, Ontario with the loss of about 130 jobs.

 

P.S. - Like our news? Support the site with a coffee/beer. Or shop with our Amazon link. We use affiliate links when possible--thank you for supporting independent media.