Source : Globe & Mail

Vancouver's two daily newspapers are cutting newsroom staff as the owner of The Vancouver Sun and The Province transfers work for both publications to Hamilton in a companywide bid to reduce costs.
Jamie Pitblado, vice-president of promotions and community investment at Pacific Newspaper Group Inc., said between 20 and 30 jobs at the Sun and Province would be eliminated.
The cuts come amid a push by Pacific Newspaper Group's parent company, CanWest Global Communications Corp., to centralize some production work for its 10 city newspapers at offices in Hamilton.
Winnipeg-based CanWest owns other dailies including the Victoria Times Colonist, the Calgary Herald, The Edmonton Journal, the Montreal Gazette and the Ottawa Citizen.
Mr. Pitblado said the layout operations for international and national news pages, as well as weekly driving and travel sections, are being moved to Hamilton. That office has already been providing sports and business agate pages for several years, as well as TV listings and weather.
"It's not a question of decision-making moving, it's just a question of a production function moving," Mr. Pitblado said.
CanWest employees at several newspapers across Canada have been told of the cuts over the past week. Similar reductions have been made at the Montreal Gazette, Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal and others.
At most papers, the cutbacks are being done through voluntary buyouts. The newsrooms of the Sun and Province employ more than 200 people. Compensation will be based on years of service, Mr. Pitblado said.
CanWest has been restructuring its television operations with a similar strategy. In October, the company cut 200 jobs at its Global TV stations across Canada, a move that will see TV production work consolidated in major cities.
In its most recent quarter, CanWest reported a net profit of $197-million; however, that income was driven by $252-million from the sale of its New Zealand TV network. Without that injection of cash, the company lost $53.2-million from continuing operations, it said.
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