Bell Canada’s parent company, BCE, has officially announced the reduction of 690 positions as part of an ongoing restructuring initiative initiated in late 2025. The company has specified that this downsizing affects approximately 230 unionized roles, with employees being given the option to accept voluntary separation packages in most cases.
These job cuts are attributed to various operational adjustments, including the transition of customers to a more robust and easily maintainable fibre network, and a continuous drive towards operational efficiencies, as stated by Bell in communication with CBC News.
Last November, Bell had previously let go of nearly 700 jobs, predominantly comprising non-unionized management positions nationwide. BCE had declared its intention in October to achieve $1.5 billion in overall cost savings by 2028 through a comprehensive companywide transformation and sustained emphasis on operational efficiencies.
In a significant move in 2024, BCE downsized its workforce by nine percent, impacting about 4,800 positions, part of a broader restructuring that involved divesting numerous radio stations and discontinuing multiple television newscasts. This followed an earlier workforce reduction of approximately 1,300 roles, equating to three percent of its workforce in June 2023.
During the recent quarter, BCE reported a profit attributable to common shareholders amounting to $616 million or 66 cents per diluted share, compared to $630 million or 68 cents per diluted share in the first quarter of 2025. CEO Mirko Bibic highlighted during an earnings call that the company has revised its revenue target for its expanding AI business upwards by one-third, as it progresses with plans to establish a collection of data centers.
Looking ahead, BCE anticipates generating approximately $2 billion in revenue from its suite of AI-driven enterprise solutions by 2028, surpassing its previous target of $1.5 billion over three years. Alongside its core offerings in fibre, wireless, and digital media, the company underscores AI-powered enterprise solutions as a central element of its strategic roadmap.