B.C.’s largest communication technology companies have been trimming their operations in the province, according to data on Business in Vancouver’s Biggest Communication Technology Firms in B.C. list (page 12).
Among companies for which six years of data was obtainable, the average B.C. employment level fell 2.3%. Of the 12 companies with complete data, seven experienced employment declines in the province, four experienced increases and one had no change. No. 8 Norsat International Inc. (TSX:NII; NYSE:NSAT) had the largest six-year increase in B.C. employment. It grew 52.6% to 87 employees in 2019 from 57 in 2015.
The industry’s five-year statistics are more positive. The average change in B.C. employment since 2016 is a 3% growth. However, the industry suffered a median employment decline of 0.4%, suggesting that employment decreased at smaller companies lower on the list but increased for larger companies higher on the list.
For both the five- and six-year employment change data, each of the top five companies, including four large public companies, experienced a decline in employees in British Columbia. The exception was No. 4-ranked Rogers Communications (TSX:RCI.B).
Over the most recent five-year period, No. 1-ranked Telus Corp. (TSX:T) recorded the smallest employment decline. Its employee base fell 3% to 8,000 in 2020 from 8,250 in 2016.
In contrast to the five-year decrease, B.C. staff at Telus increased 1.3% over the past year from 7,900 in 2018. Over the five-year period ending in 2019, Telus’ revenue grew 7% to $12.4 billion compared with $11.6 billion in 2015. However, over the same five-year period, the company’s B.C. employment declined 2.44%.
No. 3 Bell Canada (TSX, NYSE:BCE) recorded the steepest employment decline in B.C. since 2015: down 30.8% to 1,800 in 2019 from 2,600 in 2015.
Bell’s revenue increased 11.4% to $24 billion in 2019 from $21.5 billion in 2015.
No. 4-ranked Rogers was the only public communication tech company that had a larger five-year revenue increase than Bell’s. Rogers was also the only company to increase its B.C. employment over the same period.
Despite the falling employment trend leading up to 2019, the past year shows some promise. The large communication tech companies didn’t post a net reduction in employee numbers for the first time since at least 2015.
And while B.C. employment has generally declined at the large public telecom companies, it has grown for companies in the next tier, including Norsat International Inc., CityWest Cable and Telephone Corp. and Novus Entertainment Inc., since 2015. •
