At least 129 full-time employees and close to 30 part-timers have been let go as part of a massive restructuring of local news at CHCH TV.

A newsroom staffer says the number of cuts was announced in a meeting with senior management Friday.

Of that group, 71 people have reportedly been offered new jobs, but it’s unclear in what capacity.

With the changes, CHCH is expected to reduce its local programming from 80 hours to 25 hours a week, Unifor media sector director Howard Law reportedly told The Canadian Press.

News staff at CHCH TV learned Friday their company has filed for bankruptcy.

As of 4 p.m., newscasts were cancelled for Friday and the remainder of the weekend.

Channel Zero chair and CEO Romen Podzyhun went on the air late Friday afternoon to tell viewers that local news would return on Monday. He did not detail what changes would be happening.

“This new reality put us in an untenable situation and as a result, in order to ensure the continued broadcast of CHCH, we’ve made some significant changes to our programming schedule,” he said. “Decisions like these are hard because they impact the personal lives of so many colleagues we care deeply.”

A press release issued by Channel Zero — the parent company of CHCH — said CHCH will transition to a new schedule including 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts starting Saturday.

According to the release, Morning Live — the station’s morning show — will return on Tuesday.

Employees began asking questions this morning after money was unexpectedly deposited in some employees’ bank accounts. One staffer — who does not want to be identified — says the amount was equal to about two paycheques.

The station was bought by Channel Zero in Toronto in 2009. It was on the verge of going off the air then when CanWest Global collapsed.

Executive producer of television news at CHCH John McKenna said he had few details.

“It’s a very hard and a very sad day,” he said.

One staffer, who didn’t want her name used because she was clinging to the hope she might still have a job on Monday, said the mood is “awful.”

As of 2:45 p.m. people were still optimistically working to file stories, she said.

Staff took to social media with reaction to the news cut.

Aaron Rathbone, a producer, used Twitter to say: “I usually use twitter to find sources. Now using it to figure out if I have a job.”

Hamilton Centre MPP and Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath tweeted: “Thinking about all the folks at CHCH TV right now. Hoping they can continue to tell local stories.”

Greg O’Brien, the Westdale-based editor and publisher of online industry magazine Cartt.ca, described the news as unfortunate but not surprising given the growing challenges facing TV news networks.

“They’re great for local news but man, it’s expensive to do,” he said of the station. As he understands it, local advertising is still strong, but the national advertising dollars — the real bread and butter — just isn’t there.

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For example, CHCH must keep their over-the-air transmitters running at all times to maintain their must-carry status on cable, O’Brien says — which can cost between $15,000-30,000 a month in hydro power alone. Plus the costs of news trucks and reporters on the ground.

CHCH was one of just two independent news stations left in Canada. The other, O’Brien says, is in Victoria.

With files from The Canadian Press