Yellow Pages layoffs affect 500 Canadian employees

Yellow Pages Ltd. has announced that they will eliminate around 500 jobs in Canada. The move is designed to reduce overall spending, in an effort to improve the company’s results.

The 500 jobs being cut represents 18% of Yellow Pages’ employees.

Yellow Pages chief executive David Eckert explained in a statement that “decisions that materially impact our employees are difficult but absolutely critical to securing the near-term health of the business while we build a great company that provides excellent opportunities in the future.”

All parts of the company’s business will be affected by the layoffs, and costs of restructuring are expected to reach $17-million.

Yellow Pages produces print directories, and also operates as a digital media and marketing business.

Among the company’s holdings are YP.ca, RedFlagDeals.com, Canada411.ca, 411.ca, and Bookenda.com

IN THE NEWS
• Yellow Pages cutting 18% of employees
• Yellow Pages announces actions to reduce spending

Termination agreements for Yellow Pages employees

In Canada, non-unionized employees and senior executives working for Yellow Pages are owed full severance pay when they lose their jobs due to downsizing, corporate restructuring, or the closure of the business.

This includes individuals working full-time, part-time, or hourly in Ontario, Alberta, and B.C.

People working “on contract” or as a contractor may also be owed severance pay — given that many employees in Canada are often misclassified as independent contractors.

Severance can be as much as 24 months’ pay, depending on a number of factors.

LEARN MORE
• Severance for provincially regulated employees
• Severance packages in mass layoffs
• Severance packages for dietitians

WATCH: Employment lawyer Lior Samfiru explains what rights employees have if they are being fired or let go on an episode of the Employment Law Show.

Before you accept any severance offer, have an experienced employment lawyer at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP review it and your employment contract.

We can tell you if what you have been provided is fair and how to get proper compensation if it falls short of what you are actually owed.

If you aren’t given the full amount, which happens often, you have been wrongfully dismissed and are entitled to compensation.

In some cases, employers pressure staff into accepting poor severance packages, such as imposing a deadline for accepting the offer.

Non-unionized employees in Canada have up to two years from the date of their dismissal to pursue a claim for full severance pay.