Seven people have been relieved of their duties at the Regina Exhibition Association Limited (REAL) as part of restructuring at the embattled organization. The staffing changes were confirmed by Jaime Boldt, the chair of REAL’s board of directors, following a special city council meeting on Tuesday. The layoffs come as the company works to restructure itself towards a more “efficient” and “financially responsible” organization. “Going back to the mandate that we were given, the motion that was passed a few months ago was asking REAL to go back to the business model – and to look at it and that’s what we did,” Boldt told reporters. “That in-turn led us to a point where we needed to take a really hard look at the structure.” REAL parted ways with the employees on Monday, June 2. Boldt did confirm the seven employees were part of the organization’s senior leadership and that their positions were being completely eliminated. “We also recognize that this impacted people’s lives. You know we’re talking about positions, we’re talking about that, but these are people,” Boldt noted. “I really want to stress that this was really important to us. It wasn’t done without careful consideration and support of the board. Yesterday was not an easy day for many people.” The changes come as REAL is expected to name a permanent CEO in the coming days. “We are very excited to be making that announcement early next week. Stay tuned,” Boldt added. REAL is due to announce its plans and concert lineups for the 2025 Queen City Ex on Friday, June 6.
