Dozens of employees of Shaw Communications in Saskatoon were let go Wednesday, as part of the company's plan to be more "cost effective."
Peter Bissonette, Shaw President and Director, spoke over the phone from Calgary, and told CTV the move will primarily affect tech-support employees from the call centre.
"We were looking for ways to create more effective support, and become more cost effective. It's a very competitive environment," said Bissonnette. "We looked at the kind of support we can get from a call centre, and in terms of expanding it, it doesn't make sense to expand when we have a much larger centre in Winnipeg."
Bissonnette says approximately 50 employees were laid off, but a source tells CTV the number is closer to 100 employees. Shaw is streamlining its operation from 18 call centres across Canada, the source says, to seven.
Bissonnette confirmed that in western Canada, about 500 people will be laid off, "mostly from management positions," but the layoffs will not affect Shaw Media or Global news.
