The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday edition that BCE dropped 1,700 net jobs in 2025, the second year in a row of losses and the latest sign of the telecom industry's continued contraction, as BCE and its rivals look to cut costs and pay down billions in debt. The Globe's Irene Galea writes that at the end of 2025, BCE had 38,683 employees, compared with 40,390 employees at the end of 2024, according to the company's annual report filed Friday. This decrease of 4 per cent was the result of work force reductions, natural attrition and retirements, the company said. This overall loss, while less steep than the previous year, reflects the industry's efforts to streamline operations as they contend with slow growth, price competition and stagnant population size. The telcos have attributed some of these reductions to business efficiencies and technology upgrades, like the replacement of copper wire with fibre optic cable, which they say requires less maintenance. BCE's job losses, which include a reduction of its media division employees and sizable management layoffs, also factor in additional U.S.-based jobs from an August acquisition, Ziply Fiber, a U.S. Internet company that added 1,700 employees to BCE's ranks.