BCE Cutting Over 4000 Jobs

[Barry]

?BCE is planning to cut up to 4,000 jobs and spin off two big chunks of its business this year as the communications giant adjusts to intense competition from rival cable and cellphone operators. In 2006, BCE plans to cut a further 3,000 to 4,000 jobs - about half by attrition - on top of the 5,000 jobs cut in 2005 as part of the Galileo project. In addition, BCE is going to reduce the amount it spends with its suppliers, currently $8.5 billion annually, the company said.

BCE also said it will create an income trust for its regional phone lines division and an initial public offering of stock in satellite company Telesat Canada. To do that, the company is working to getting an increasing percentage of its revenues from newer "growth" areas of the communications business.

Growth areas for Bell Canada include its Bell Mobility wireless business, Sympatico high-speed Internet, ExpressVu direct-to-home satellite TV service and, eventually, an Internet television service known as IPTV, he said. But it's also imperative for Bell to cut costs as prices at its legacy Bell Canada businesses come under pressure as cable companies roll out their Internet phone services and erode a once-stable revenue stream.

BCE would continue to own 50 per cent of the new trust, which would continue to have strong ties with Bell Canada, and distribute the other 50 per cent of the trust's units to BCE shareholders. Your thoughts?

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