Unifor is outraged about announcement from Bell Canada Enterprises Inc. (BCE Inc.) to cut 4,800 jobs ? 9% of its workforce ? affecting 800 of the union's members, while deliberately putting shareholders ahead of workers with increased dividend payouts.

Of the 800 Unifor members, the vast majority come from the telecommunications sector, who are largely workers responsible for keeping Canadians connected, with 100 workers coming from the media sector. This is the largest mass layoff by the company in 30 years and delivered at a time when the company is on sound financial footing, able to continuously raise dividends year-over-year during the past decade and buy back shares which helps to feather the nests of shareholders and executives. The announcement marks the second major layoff at the media and telecommunications company since June, when it announced 6% of jobs were eliminated and nine radio stations were either closed or sold.