Canadian telecom company Bell has fired more than 400 employees for holding meetings during video calls of just 10 minutes. Unifor, the union representing employees, has condemned the move, calling it beyond shameful. The laid-off employees were told in a 10-minute video call, “You are now an extra among us,” and the manager read out the layoff notice without allowing anyone to ask questions, the Toronto Star reported.
The company denied the statement
Unifor’s Quebec director reportedly said that our members, who have dedicated years of service to the telecoms and media giant, are being paid with pink slips. However, the company denied the statement and said it had been transparent with the union leadership for more than five weeks. The retrenchment process and its responsibilities have been completed. The company said the terminated employees also held individual HR meetings to discuss severance packages.
Plan announced to eliminate 4,800 positions in February
Unifor is Canada’s largest private sector union, with approximately 315,000 members across the country. They represent more than 19,000 employees of Bell and its subsidiaries. Bell previously announced plans in February to eliminate 4,800 positions, approximately 9% of its workforce, as CEO Mirko Bibic explained on an earnings call that the cuts are being made to simplify our organization and accelerate our transformation. Told it was necessary. But the layoff decision was criticized because the company also increased dividend payments to shareholders.
The union said it expressed displeasure at how the dismissals were being handled, leading the company to change its approach to future meetings. The union said our representatives will be present going forward, and workers on the group call will be free to unmute themselves and ask questions. Bell is projected to post $2.3 billion profit at the end of 2022, according to Unifor.
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