by Jana Paskova
WBP Online Correspondent in Ottawa

Rogers Communications Inc., Canada's one of the biggest telecommunications companies, announced on Tuesday that it is laying off 375 staff. Employees of the Toronto based company were notified on Monday. Rogers has almost 30,000 employees, so the layoffs announced Tuesday represent about 1%.

The company teamed-up with Bell and announced in December that they would buy a majority stake in Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment for $1.3 billion. Rogers Communications also owns the Toronto Blue Jays, a baseball club, the television stations CityTV and Sportsnet, and magazines including Maclean's and Chatelaine. Rogers Broadcasting also operates 51 Canadian radio stations.

The profits of the telecommunication company were lower than expected and the company is now facing declines in both cash flow and revenue.

“This is part of a comprehensive approach to cost management that we announced earlier this year,” company spokeswoman Patricia Trott said in a statement. Layoffs come from all types of jobs in the wireless, cable and Internet divisions, from front-line staff to managers.

"Going forward, we're managing costs where it makes sense but we're continuing to invest in driving the business forward and obviously we have a focus as well on driving revenue, new sources of revenue," added Trott.

This news came two months after Rogers Communications said it would tighten its belt due to difficulties competing in the wireless and cable TV markets. In April, the company announced disappointing profits in the first quarter. It reported revenue of $2.95 billion in the quarter, down from $2.99 billion for the same period a year ago.

Rogers laid off about 300 employees across its operations in March, with the cuts focused on management and head office positions. At that time, Rogers chief executive Nadir Mohamed said that the company would look at trimming discretionary spending and supply cost.

The Rogers television and Internet service unit lost 27,000 customers last quarter, while Rogers' biggest competition Bell Canada Inc. added 18,000.  

To contact the author of this story e-mail jana.paskova@wbponline.com