Trudeau said he was outraged by the Bell Media layoffs, calling it a “trash decision.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has spoken out about widespread layoffs at BCE Inc, calling the cuts a “trash decision.”

Trudeau says he is outraged by Bell Media's decision to end several television news shows and that the corporation should have known better.

The center cut programming Thursday after its parent company announced job cuts and the sale of 45 of its 103 regional radio stations.

Trudeau says big corporations have bought radio stations, small community newspapers and local publications only to fire journalists and change the quality of their offerings.

He said when readership and viewership decline, corporations sell off outlets and say they are not profitable, undermining local journalism and Canadian democracy.

Bell Media's ad revenue is down $140 million in 2023 from a year earlier, and the company's news division is losing more than $40 million in annual operating costs, Chief Executive Mirko Bibic said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on February 9, 2024

CJAD 800 — BCE Inc. a division of Bell Media.