Shaw Communications Inc. plans to permanently lay off about 100 field technicians in British Columbia’s Lower Mainland, stating the COVID-19 pandemic had “only accelerated” the company’s two-year pivot towards a self-connect service model. A Shaw spokesman said in an email that the redundancies — affecting less than eight per cent of its technician workforce — were necessary as “very few of our unionized technicians accepted early retirement or volunteer packages that were offered.” The layoffs were first reported by the Globe and Mail Thursday. Technician-led service and...