Less than 10 months ago, the Competition Bureau approved the sale of Sun Media newspapers to Postmedia on the assumption that the deal was unlikely to result in a substantial lessening or prevention of competition in any relevant market, Morse said.
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However, Godfrey made it clear that it would continue to operate the two papers in Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver, though there will be only one newsroom.
In a memo, Postmedia chief executive Paul Godfrey said the Sun brand will remain separate from that of the broadsheet newspaper in each market and both newspapers will continue to publish.
Through a deep pool of talented multi-media journalists local news and events will be covered, reported on and investigated by one team in Ottawa, one team in Calgary, one team in Edmonton and one team in Vancouver.
The company also said furthers reductions of as many as 50 positions could be achieved via voluntary buyouts offered in Vancouver and Ottawa starting in coming days.
National Post columnist Chris Selley said on his Twitter feed that approximately 90 jobs were cut.
“We know this will not be without its challenges and we know there will be bumps along the road”.
Newsroom staff in each city will largely be sharing resources, and real-estate, as in, one newsroom in each city.
Since the acquisition, Godfrey said, “we have been working to move our teams together in order to leverage strengths and also to find synergies and savings”.
Coombs tweeted: “Super sad to say as of today, I’m no longer with the @edmontonjournal”.
“It’s happening everywhere (in the business)”, she said.
Gelfand said the company is creating a national sports writing team, which will consist of existing employees.
The cuts come less than a week after Postmedia announced it was stepping up its efforts to cut costs amid continued losses in advertising, print circulation and digital media revenue.
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Postmedia said it was on track to meet the $50-million target by this May 31, the end of its fiscal third quarter.
