The six regional dailies of the Coops de l’information (CN2i) will no longer be printed in paper format from the end of December 2023. There should also be about a hundred positions representing about one-third of the company’s workforce. laid off, particularly through a program of voluntary departures.
“We’re dealing with the same readership trends everywhere: a decline in our paper subscriptions and an increase in our digital subscriptions. In the past year, our two curves have also crossed, which means we now have more digital subscribers than paper,” he explains At the press Genevieve Rosier, Director General of Coops de l’information.
The manager, who took up her post in March and was hired last January, wrapped up a tour of newsrooms on Wednesday during which the issue was discussed with employees. The option to end paper has been in the air since the creation of the cooperatives three years ago, in 2019, she said. “The choice we are making has been announced for a long time. employees and the union,” she said.
The reality is that we won’t see a drop in the paper with all the advertising revenue leaked to GAFAM. A decision had to be made. We can no longer organize two teams to do two things at once. We believe now is the right time for CN2i.
Geneviève Rossier, Executive Director of Information Cops
From June 2020, newspapers good, the sun, Gallery, Le nouvelliste, The Voice of the East And The Daily A single paper carries an edition, a Saturday one. The printing date of these six newspapers should be around 31st December.
Three job categories
In total, about 100 of the 350 positions in the cooperatives will be affected by the cuts, some of which were previously “unoccupied through attrition,” M said.me Rosier. “Then there is a second category directly connected to paper production, which is affected, because these are functions that the company no longer needs with the transformation”, she explains.
The third category, which affects the most employees, according to the Director General, consists of positions that are “subject to voluntary exits”. In fact, the cooperative hopes that these voluntary exits will prevent layoffs. “Obviously, we still don’t know who will raise their hand, that’s unknown, but on our side, we will try to do everything to protect the newsrooms. This is a stimulus for our companies,” emphasized Genevieve Rosier.
Talks with six newspaper unions will begin next week with the aim of drawing up a “clear and concrete plan” for the continuation of voluntary departures by next June.
“Then, people will have a period to give their answer and reflect,” DG said. But it is classified: “We are not in the process of divesting any of the six brands in our group. “”We [a bon espoir] We are able to manage our production levels and ensure each newspaper’s target,” she continued.
A start, the union said
On the union side, it is said that management has not yet given a concrete plan, but the President of the National Federation responds that it is likely to find the best way to ensure the sustainability of CN2i with the least negative impact on employees. CSN’s Communications and Culture, Annick Charette. “No weather [à la confrontation]. »
The job cuts have already begun indirectly, as the cooperative recently froze hiring, Anik said cart
As its six dailies will be distributed entirely on digital platforms, CN2i also plans to roll out a new web interface for its sites and new applications. These should be disclosed soon. Digital subscription to group platforms is available from November 2020.
Six cooperatives were created in December 2019 on the initiative of employees and managers, who were able to raise approximately $21 million in public and private funding, in particular Mouvement Desjardins and Fonds de solidarité FTQ. .
With Canadian Press
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