Layoffs possible after CTV merger

Ryan Taplin/Metro Halifax

Pedestrians walk past the CTV building on Robie Street yesterday.

• Studio seeks increased efficiency

“There will not be 26 layoffs … There will be significantly less than that. We’re trying to make it zero.”
– Michael Elgie, vice-president, CTV Halifax

Published: July 29, 2010 12:47 a.m.

Last modified: July 29, 2010 12:52 a.m.

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Employees at CTV Halifax may be facing a round of layoffs when management merges the station’s traffic and master control departments.

The number of layoffs — if any — will not be known until Sept. 1. There are 26 employees in the two departments, though CTV vice-president Michael Elgie said that doesn’t mean 26 layoffs.

Elgie said Halifax is the only CTV studio in Canada yet to merge the two departments.

“It’s easier for technical upgrades ... to have a centralized master control system,” he said, adding it’s more efficient from a staffing point of view as well.

Elgie said there will be no effect on CTV’s editorial department.

Andre Benoit, president of the IBEW Local 1318, which represents 11 employees at the studio, said some employees may opt for voluntary severance packages or early retirement.

“Hopefully there will be no layoffs, but we don’t know that yet,” said Benoit, who works at the station. “We’re going to work with the company to make sure nobody gets laid off.”

“If they have to use their bumping rights, then they’ll do so,” he added.

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