BCE Inc. (BCE,BCE.TO), the parent company of Bell Canada, said Monday that it will eliminate about 2500 management positions at Bell, representing about 15% of its management workforce or 6% of its total workforce as part of an organizational realignment focused on improving its cost structure.
The cuts include a 30% reduction in executive jobs revealed earlier this month, the company said.
The Montreal-based company said it expects the cuts, along with other reductions undertaken earlier this year, to provide annualized savings of about C$300 million.
Non-management front-line service positions are not affected under this organizational realignment, the company noted.
BCE, parent of Canada's largest communications company, has more than 54,000 employees.
George Cope, President and CEO of BCE and Bell Canada, said, "This new structure positions us as a far more efficient and cost-effective operator in the intensely competitive Canadian communications marketplace."
The moves were widely anticipated when George Cope took over as Chief Executive Officer of BCE and Bell Canada from Michael Sabia earlier this month.
BCE is being taken private by a buyer group led by the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan in a $35 billion deal struck in June 2007. Including debt and accounting for currency fluctuations, the deal is valued at about C$52 billion, which would make it the biggest leveraged buyout ever.
Earlier this month, BCE reached a final agreement with the buyer group to complete the deal. Under the final agreement that amends the definitive agreement signed in June 2007, the purchase price remains at C$42.75 per share, but the closing of the deal is delayed until December 11.
Also, the final agreement increases the reverse break fee from C$1 billion to C$1.2 billion to be paid by the purchasers if the deal falls through and prevents BCE from paying dividend on its common shares until the deal closes. However, it allows the company to continue to pay dividends on its preferred shares.
Through the suspension of dividends, BCE will save up to C$900 million Canadian to help pay off debt or put towards working capital, and the delay in closing the deal will give the banks more time to market and syndicate out part of their loans.
Additionally, the purchasers and the lenders have executed a credit agreement and other key financing documents for the purpose of funding the deal. The deal is being financed by Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland and TD Securities, a unit of Toronto-Dominion Bank.
BCE shares are currently trading on the NYSE at $38.06, down 4 cents. On the TSX, the company's shares are currently trading at C$38.92, up C$0.03.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.