Canwest to Eliminate 500-Plus Positions

WINNIPEG, November 13:
With a view to reducing annual costs by C$61 million, Canwest Global
Communications Corp. has announced a planned reduction in its workforce of
about 560 positions—5 percent of its total employee base.

The reduction will be
achieved through voluntary buyouts, attrition and reductions. This follows the
elimination of several hundred jobs over the last two years. The move is in
response to the economic crisis, as well as a "challenging"
conventional TV market in Canada, Canwest said in a statement.

"Having completed an
assessment of our Canadian operations and, after careful consideration, we are
implementing a number of initiatives that will provide savings that will allow
us to better compete in the current economic environment, without compromising
our core products and services," said Leonard Asper, the president and CEO of Canwest. "It will not impact our
strategy to invest in growth media like digital online, mobile and specialty
channels."

Asper added that while
previous job cuts and restructures were helpful in managing costs, "the
current environment requires that we go further—especially in light of
the CRTC's failure to adequately recognize the structural issues facing
conventional broadcasters. Although it was a very difficult decision to
implement staff reductions, we believe that these actions are required to enable
Canwest to maintain its strength, build market position and be ready at the
first sign of an economic recovery."

Canwest Broadcasting will
reduce its workforce by about 210 positions and lower its operating expenses
(excluding programming costs) by some C$17 million from fiscal '08 levels.
Initiatives include the restructuring of its news operations at E! stations. A
series of initiatives in Canwest Publishing will eliminate 350 positions,
lowering operating costs in fiscal 2009 by between C$25 million and C$30
million.

—By Mansha Daswani