Torstar lays off 60

Toronto Star parent company, Torstar Corp., has laid off 60 people as advertising revenues continue to slide.

The bulk of the layoffs, according to a Globe and Mail report, are mainly in advertising sales and marketing support at the Toronto Star.

Some of the layoffs are at other Star Media entities, but A Torstar rep told the Globe that the cuts are mainly focused on the company’s newspaper operations, rather than online sites such as Wheels.ca or Toronto.com.

Torstar spokesperson Bob Hepburn said:

“We’re facing severe business challenges. No major metro newspaper in Canada or the United States has been spared from the intense financial pressures created by a combination of the severe cyclical and structural revenue declines.”

In a news release titled, “Toronto Star layoffs shameful, says union,” Maureen Dawson, Star unit chair for the Southern Ontario Newspaper Guild, a local of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada, said:

“If this organization can pay our friend Rob a package of $8 to $11 million to leave his CEO chair in May, he can certainly afford to help our colleagues, the ones paying the price today for his mistakes.”