The owners of La Presse, a leading newsroom in Montreal that went digital-only in 2017 and shifted to a non-profit structure earlier this year, is cutting 37 jobs—and asking its journalists to take voluntary buyouts before the company imposes layoffs.
"Journalists at La Presse have faced years of uncertainty thanks to a prolonged digital transition," said CAJ president Karyn Pugliese, citing 49 cuts last year and 43 newsroom jobs in 2015. "Now they're not sure who gets to keep their jobs—or who might put up their hand to take a buyout."
The prominent French-language outlet, established more than 130 years ago, is struggling with well-known industry-wide challenges, including insufficient advertising revenue lost to tech giants Facebook and Google. These latest cuts were announced mere months after Power Corp pledged $50 million to La Presse's non-profit future.
As always, said Pugliese, the remaining La Presse reporters and editors will work long hours to cover a metropolitan area with millions of residents, as well as the rest of Canada's second-largest province. "Stories will go untold, and Montrealers and Quebecers will inevitably be less informed as a result."
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