Rogers Sports & Media and Corus confirm 'difficult but necessary' layoffs

The Canadian media industry has taken another hit as Rogers Sports & Media and Corus confirmed layoffs in their audio divisions.

Rogers Sports & Media confirmed in a statement that a few dozen employees had been laid off due to uncertainty in the advertising market.

"With the radio industry continuing to feel the pressure of an uncertain advertising market, we made some difficult but necessary changes in our audio business, impacting roles in several markets," said a Rogers Sports & Media spokesperson via email.

The layoffs impacted jobs in the audio department; however, there will be no station closure added to the company.

Rogers noted that it is adjusting its operating expenses due to declining revenue.

In a brief statement, Corus also confirmed to Daily Hive that it made "difficult but necessary changes" to its AM portfolio. It did not confirm how many employees were impacted.

A spokesperson said the changes come as part of the company's "programming refresh" and will impact radio teams in various markets across Canada.

"As a result, certain roles have been impacted but others have been added or changed," said Corus.

Popular Calgary radio host Rob Breakenridge took to X to confirm that he was let go. He stated that he was the "latest, but sadly not the last, casualty of cuts/restructuring in the media industry."

It's been a tough year for Canadian media.

In February, BCE reduced 4,800 positions across all levels of the company including voluntary departures by eliminating vacant positions. BCE told us that around 440 of those positions were at Bell Media.

Corus previously announced major cuts as part of ongoing layoffs this past summer.

With files from Laine Mitchell and Imaan Sheikh