Bell Lays Off 400 Employees In 10-Minute Video Calls; Union Terms It 'Beyond Shameful'

Telecommunication major Bell has laid off 400 workers in brief virtual group meetings, said the union representing the employees Unifor. The largest private sector union in Canada has termed the move as “beyond shameful”.

The sacked employees were declared “surplus” in brief 10-minute video calls. The union said the employees were given layoff notice without allowing anyone to ask questions.

Unifor’s Quebec director said, “Our members, who have devoted years of service to this telecoms and media giant, are being repaid with pink slips” although the company disputed the statement and said that it had been transparent with union leadership for over five weeks about the layoff process and has met its obligations.

Bell said the terminated employees also had individual HR meetings to discuss severance packages.

Earlier in February, Bell had announced to eliminate 4,800 positions, nearly 9 per cent of its workforce. CEO Mirko Bibic had called the cuts necessary to “simplify our organization and accelerate our transformation” on an earnings call.

Unifor said, “The truth is Bell picked a number of heads to roll so it could increase its dividend payout without an actual plan on which jobs and which workers would be eliminated so the terminations are cruelly dragged out.”

Meanwhile, jeep maker Stellantis is also laying off about 400 white-collar workers in the US as it deals with the transition from combustion engines to electric vehicles. The company formed in the 2021 merger between PSA Peugeot and Fiat Chrysler said the workers are mainly in engineering, technology and software at the headquarters and technical center in Auburn Hills, Michigan, north of Detroit. Affected workers were being notified starting Friday morning.

“As the auto industry continues to face unprecedented uncertainties and heightened competitive pressures around the world, Stellantis continues to make the appropriate structural decisions across the enterprise to improve efficiency and optimise our cost structure,” Stellantis said in a prepared statement Friday.