Rogers Communications Inc. is offering voluntary departure packages to about 50 per cent of its employees, the latest move in a broad cost-cutting push at the telecom giant. The company said Monday the programs will reach workers across numerous business divisions, but not Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment employees.
The offer does not cover everyone. About 3,000 Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment employees are excluded, along with on-air talent, Sportsnet employees at Rogers Sports and Media, Toronto Blue Jays employees and union staff. Some teams in Rogers business units and corporate functions are eligible, but the company did not say whether it is trying to hit a specific reduction target. At the end of 2025, Rogers had 25,000 employees.
“We are taking steps to adjust our cost structure to reflect the business realities of the current environment,” said Zac Carreiro. “As part of this, some teams have chosen to offer voluntary departure and retirement programs to give some employees the choice to decide whether they’d like to stay with the company or begin a new chapter.”
The latest buyout offer lands after Rogers said last week it planned to reduce its 2026 capital expenditures by up to $1.2-billion compared with last year, a cut it described as 30 per cent. That follows a year of pressure on the company’s balance sheet, including $34.7-billion in long-term debt as of March 31 and a $7-billion sale of a stake in its wireless infrastructure in 2025. Rogers has also laid off customer support staff in multiple provinces, told about 400 technicians and managers they could accept severance packages or sign employment contracts with Ericsson, and ended its customer service contract with Foundever, affecting hundreds of jobs.
Rogers is not alone. BCE’s Bell Canada and Telus Corp. have been cutting jobs and offering buyouts as cell phone plan pricing has fallen and population growth has stalled. Rogers has been carrying heavy debt from infrastructure buildouts, acquisitions and new business lines, and the company’s spending choices reflect that strain. After its 2023 completion of the $20-billion takeover of Shaw, it bought Bell’s stake in Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment for $4.7-billion and re-signed its NHL licensing deal for $11-billion.
The question now is not whether Rogers will keep trimming, but how much deeper the cuts will go and how quickly they will reach the parts of the company still outside this round of buyouts.
