Who is BCE? Quick facts about the company behind Thursday’s job cuts announcement

MONTREAL – BCE Inc. is cutting nine per cent of its workforce and making sweeping changes at its media division, including the sale of 45 of its 103 regional radio stations.

The company: BCE, or Bell Canada Enterprises, is Canada’s largest telecommunications company. Prior to Thursday’s job cut announcements, the company employed more than 52,000 people, according to its website.

Telecom giant: On the telecom side, Bell offers mobile and wireless plans, fibre internet and TV, residential and business internet and voice services and more.

The media division: BCE also has a media division, Bell Media. It offers media brands such as CTV, RDS, Crave and iHeartRadio. Bell Media also invests in the creation of Canadian content including local television and radio news, sports and entertainment programming, and other original TV and film productions.

Mobile sales: BCE is also one of Canada’s major retailers, with more than 8,000 retail distribution points across Canada, including over 1,000 Bell, Virgin Plus, Lucky Mobile and The Source locations, as well as Glentel-operated locations.

Leadership: Since January of 2020, the company has been led by president and CEO Mirko Bibic. Its board of directors is chaired by former RBC chief executive Gord Nixon.

The company is well-known for its Bell Let’s Talk mental health initiative, which was launched in 2010 with a focus on building awareness and action in Canadian mental health.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 8, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:BCE)