Almost 200 workers of The News Group will be losing their jobs as more media layoffs hit B.C. newsrooms.
The News Group is part of the Pattison empire, and distributes books and magazines to retailers all over B.C., from Walmart to small Mom-and-Pop operations.
Those impacted are located in the Lower Mainland and on Vancouver Island. 170 of the affected employees are unionized, and about 30 are management.
Anita Dawson of Teamsters Local 213 says the cuts come as a result of major changes in the way we consume media.
“The business has been around for 100 years and was very successful,” says Dawson. “There’s been a real downtown and change in the business that amounts to a lot of digital technology that we use everyday.”
“It has really led to a reduction in magazine and book sales.”
Dawson says the company wants to work with the union and the employees to help transition members to new employment, possibly with new Pattison companies. She says those details have not yet been determined.
Comments