Shaw Trims Workforce by 4% - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

sergei_makarov · 03-23-2011, 11:35 PM

Facing stiff competition from TELUS, new Shaw CEO cut his company's workforce by 4%. I know two people that were laid off today.

Quote:

Notices went out to roughly 150 managers, including vice-presidents of certain operations, and another 350 call-centre support and warehouse employees Wednesday notifying them of their termination.

The reorganization comes as Shaw faces pressure from limited growth prospects in its traditional cable television and Internet products, while chief rival Telus Corp. is making gains in taking market share.

In the last year or so, Vancouver-based Telus has grown its share of the TV market in B.C. and Alberta to 10% overall from 6% at the end of 2009, and the pace is quickening. “Telus has been going after their bread and butter,” the analyst said.

http://business.financialpost.com/20...cuts-500-jobs/

4X4 · 03-24-2011, 12:13 AM

I don't know about anyone else, but in the last few months, the service I received from Shaw was, well, reminiscent of 2002 Telus. So I switched. Telus gets my money now. Too bad, Shaw. I hope you laid off that dickhead CSR that dared me to cancel when I told him that Telus offered a better package. No, you most certainly don't have to match it, but instead of being an arrogant prick, you might want to consider that losing business means losing jobs.

Travis Munroe · 03-24-2011, 12:30 AM

telus as my cell provider (before i switched) was horrible and I will never go back.
telus as my cable/internet provider has been fantastic, customer service has been great and overall the functions, reliability and quality has been top notch.

Mango · 03-24-2011, 12:41 AM

One of my good friends who is in the broadcasting field got laid off. This is actually the second time Shaw has done this to her and she's devastated right now. When Shaw purchased CanWest Global, they brought her back, only to cut her again.

I'm trying to find out how many other broadcasting jobs were cut, but the articles I'm reading only mention the CSR and manager numbers. Not that I think her position is/was more important than anyone elses, I'm just curious if other departments were cut and not mentioned.

OilKiller · 03-24-2011, 12:51 AM

Not trying to be insensitive by any means, but great, I've been looking for full time employment in the IT industry. This should really help make things easier...

sergei_makarov · 03-24-2011, 12:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mango

One of my good friends who is in the broadcasting field got laid off. This is actually the second time Shaw has done this to her and she's devastated right now. When Shaw purchased CanWest Global, they brought her back, only to cut her again.

I'm trying to find out how many other broadcasting jobs were cut, but the articles I'm reading only mention the CSR and manager numbers. Not that I think her position is/was more important than anyone elses, I'm just curious if other departments were cut and not mentioned.

The two I know were in middle management (not senior managers) and were not in call centers.

Julio · 03-24-2011, 12:57 AM

Calgary got hit...150 or so, by percentage of employees Saskatoon got smacked hard though...they lost their call centre and almost half of the Shaw employees in S'toon got laid off.

OilKiller · 03-24-2011, 01:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Julio

Calgary got hit...150 or so, by percentage of employees Saskatoon got smacked hard though...they lost their call centre and almost half of the Shaw employees in S'toon got laid off.

Where are you getting the numbers? Do you know how many in Edmonton?

Julio · 03-24-2011, 01:18 AM

I didn't see the Edmonton #s...got this from a combination of knowing a couple survivors @ Shaw and a story on the Saskatoon S-P's website.

rubecube · 03-24-2011, 01:59 AM

Gee, look what happens when your company is run by morons and consistently lags in current communications technologies.

Dion · 03-24-2011, 02:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mango

One of my good friends who is in the broadcasting field got laid off. This is actually the second time Shaw has done this to her and she's devastated right now. When Shaw purchased CanWest Global, they brought her back, only to cut her again.

I'm trying to find out how many other broadcasting jobs were cut, but the articles I'm reading only mention the CSR and manager numbers. Not that I think her position is/was more important than anyone elses, I'm just curious if other departments were cut and not mentioned.

Getting let go is never an easy thing to deal with. It's sad when loyalty is a forgien concept with employers. Bringing someone back only to let the go again doesn't seem right.

Anyhoo I hope your friend finds a job soon

burn_this_city · 03-24-2011, 06:50 AM

Gotta pay for all those Shaw family golden parachutes. I had a buddy who worked there for 10 years before moving to our company. He said it got worse as time went on and was glad to leave when he did.

albertGQ · 03-24-2011, 08:12 AM

Did they get packages at least?

Clarkey · 03-24-2011, 08:20 AM

Are they union?

Regular_John · 03-24-2011, 08:23 AM

Yeah a colleague of mine on the web/new media team got the axe yesterday. Oddly enough I interviewed for a position with them during the summer here.

JustAnotherGuy · 03-24-2011, 08:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dion

Getting let go is never an easy thing to deal with. It's sad when loyalty is a forgien concept with employers. Bringing someone back only to let the go again doesn't seem right.

Anyhoo I hope your friend finds a job soon

Loyalty? Are you kidding? What do you expect? The company to be loyal to all their employees until they no longer make a profit. It is a two way street. Most employees have zero loyalty if a better offer comes along.

DuffMan · 03-24-2011, 09:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Realtor 1

telus as my cell provider (before i switched) was horrible and I will never go back.
telus as my cable/internet provider has been fantastic, customer service has been great and overall the functions, reliability and quality has been top notch.

You have a Shaw address in your sig.

FlamesAddiction · 03-24-2011, 09:12 AM

If Telus is growing and taking the market share from Shaw, then those 4% should go and apply with Telus. One company taking market share doesn't mean the market itself is shrinking. I can't see fewer people wanting these services in the future, but consumers will go to where they can get a better deal.

mykalberta · 03-24-2011, 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mango

One of my good friends who is in the broadcasting field got laid off. This is actually the second time Shaw has done this to her and she's devastated right now. When Shaw purchased CanWest Global, they brought her back, only to cut her again.

I'm trying to find out how many other broadcasting jobs were cut, but the articles I'm reading only mention the CSR and manager numbers. Not that I think her position is/was more important than anyone elses, I'm just curious if other departments were cut and not mentioned.

Strange the article I read none of the layoffs affect the broadcasting department.

TheyCallMeBruce · 03-24-2011, 10:12 AM

Gotta say I've been incredibly impressed with Telus internet and cable. Best part is I saved a ton of money switching from Shaw to Telus, yet sacrficed nothing and gained faster internet and better tv viewing.