The Canadian telecom landscape underwent a huge shift in 2025 as the country’s two biggest players took opposite paths regarding their employee numbers.
According to recent annual reports filed by both companies and reported by The Globe and Mail, Rogers saw its total headcount rise while Bell continued a streak of job losses.
Rogers finished 2025 with 25,000 full-time and part-time employees, marking an increase of 1,000 roles from the year prior. However, the growth comes with a major asterisk. This was the first year Rogers included employees from Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) in its count after becoming the majority shareholder of the parent company to the Toronto Maple Leafs and Raptors.
Given that MLSE employs roughly 3,000 people, the data suggests that Rogers’ job count would have actually declined without the inclusion of the sports franchise staff.
In an email regarding the figures to the Globe, Rogers stated the changes to its 2025 job count include “natural attrition, with some employees leaving for other opportunities and retirement.” The company added that it “hires thousands of people each year to support its operations, and continues to invest in its business, including its sports properties.”
While Rogers leaned into its $20-billion sports portfolio, it still moved forward with various internal cuts. The company laid off customer support staff across several provinces and transitioned roughly 400 technicians and managers to Ericsson, which now acts as a contractor.
Even so, Rogers is still working toward its 2023 federal commitment to create 3,000 jobs in Western Canada following the Shaw takeover, having created 1,828 positions as of March 2025.
Meanwhile, Bell reported a much bleaker outcome, dropping 1,700 net jobs in 2025. The company ended the year with 38,683 employees, down from 40,390 at the end of 2024. This 4% decrease was “the result of work force reductions, natural attrition and retirements,” according to the company.
Similar to Rogers, Bell’s numbers were padded by a foreign acquisition that masked the true scale of domestic cuts. The purchase of U.S.-based Ziply Fiber added approximately 1,500 American employees to the roster.
Without that acquisition, Bell’s total job losses for 2025 would have been even higher. These reductions included the layoff of 650 non-unionized managers and 40 Bell Media employees in November, alongside a cut of roughly 200 roles within its media division.
What about Telus? It seems to be following a similar script by using international acquisitions to mask a shrinking Canadian footprint. While its global workforce grew to over 110,000 people, its domestic team continues to thin out. This shift comes as the company also freezes its dividend for the first time in years to manage a heavy debt load.
In a nutshell, Rogers is betting its future on sports and entertainment to drive growth, while Bell and Telus are focused on aggressive cost-cutting and downsizing their Canadian operations to stay lean.
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