Shaw Communications to lay off 400 employees; 3 per cent of work force

Shaw Communications plans to lay off 400 employees in order to streamline their cable, satellite, Internet and home phone services into two units for consumers and businesses, the company announced.
The layoffs affect about three per cent of their workforce, which includes jobs at the Shaw Media division, which runs the Global Television Network and Shaw’s specialty TV channels including Showcase and HGTV Canada. Call centres and installation service jobs are expected to be unaffected by the cuts.
“We are eliminating duplication of work and organizing our activities and operations in a way that best meets the needs of our customers and viewers,” CEO Brad Shaw said in a statement.
Shaw, which began its existence as a cable-television company in Edmonton in 1966, said they plan to hire up to 100 people in areas of the company that are growing such as marketing and next generation products. The company has roughly 14,500 employees across its operations and delivers services to about 3.2 million customers in Canada. Shaw Media’s TV channels include Action, DIY Network Canada, BBC Canada, Deja View Canada and Slice.
Last week, Shaw reported that profits improved to $222 million in the second quarter, helped by the sale of its stake in French-language cable channels Historia and Series+ to Corus Entertainment.