Postmedia to lay off 40

Postmedia Network Canada Corp. says it will lay off about 40 employees after a number of its unions did not approve a temporary salary reduction to help reduce costs amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company says in a memo sent to staff that due to the scale of the crisis and unprecedented revenue declines of more than 30 per cent, it wanted the burden of reducing costs to be shared fairly across its operations.

The memo, which was shared on social media, says Postmedia will move forward with about 40 permanent reductions and a company spokeswoman confirmed the figure.

The memo says the company's request for a temporary salary reduction was not supported by the unions that represent its workers.

It says the company and the unions could not agree to alternate cost-reduction measures.

In May, Postmedia reported a nearly eight per cent drop in revenue for its second quarter, which ended Feb. 29.