March 12, 2015 - 3:11 PM
MONTREAL - The National Film Board of Canada says a series of cost-saving measures that include shared offices and 16 layoffs ensure the agency's financial stability through 2020.
The cuts include eight workshop educators in Montreal and Toronto, who will lose their jobs at the end of June, as well as the elimination of three director positions and the assistant commissioner position.
NFB chair Claude Joli-Coeur says the changes are meant to "establish a less hierarchical and more cohesive structure." The $5 million in savings will be reinvested throughout the organization, but a spokeswoman says they will not increase production funds.
In a letter outlining his vision through 2020, Joli-Coeur says the NFB is also creating seven new positions. Spokeswoman Lily Robert says that includes six positions in digital marketing and one in education.
Joli-Coeur says the NFB is also creating the position of director general of creation/innovation, who will be charged with developing a long-term vision and programming strategy. The position will be posted in a few weeks through a recruitment firm and is expected to be filled by early summer.
The NFB will also move its headquarters to a smaller office in the heart of the Quartier des Spectacles in Montreal at the end of 2017.
"Our success depends on our ability to change and evolve. It depends on our ability to provide diversified, relevant and engaging content and put the audience at the core of our activities," Joli-Coeur says in the letter.
"We have to build even more on what makes us stand out: creativity and innovation. The world is changing and getting smaller, competition is international and fierce.
"Our ambitions are high and they must remain so."
News from © The Canadian Press, 2015