The Toronto Star building is shown in Toronto, Wednesday, June 8, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Eduardo Lima
TORONTO – The owner of the Toronto Star and other media operations said on Wednesday it made provisions to cut 110 jobs in the first quarter after reporting another drop in revenue and continuing losses.
Torstar said it’s aiming for $5.3 million of annualized savings from the previously announced downsizing.
“Cost reduction will remain an important area of focus for us in the balance of 2017,” Torstar says in its first financial report since appointing John Boynton to be its CEO and publisher of the Toronto Star.
The Toronto-based newspaper and digital media company says it had a $24.4 million loss in the first quarter, ended March 31 – an improvement from last year when the comparable losses were more than twice as big.
The cost of salaries and benefits fell by about 16 per cent to $64.7 million, partly because of the closure of Torstar’s Vaughan, Ont., printing plant last summer and lower staffing costs associated with Star Touch – a tablet-only digital product.
Operating revenue fell more than 11 per cent to $138.7 million.
