The Cirque du Soleil is slashing 400 positions, mostly at its Montreal headquarters, citing tough economic times and out of control expenses.

“We are now in the process of reviewing within the company worldwide, all of our expenses, to ensure we decrease them significantly,” said Renée-Claude Ménard with the Cirque du Soleil.

Owner Guy Laliberté was not on hand for the announcement, company representatives said he was breaking the news to staff at the same time.

The news comes as a shock to many employees who may lose their jobs by the end of March.

There were already about 50 positions abolished before the holidays.

The Cirque du Soleil said it recorded $1 billion in revenue in 2012, however its operational and production costs are through the roof.

The first sign things were changing, Ménard admitted, was back in 2008.

The company started to see expenses increase sharply, and as the Canadian dollar inched higher, revenues decreased.

Most of the Cirque’s revenue comes from outside the Country – and Ménard said for every cent the Canadian dollar increases, it costs the company $3 million is lost revenue.

It’s a problem, she admits, the company has avoided facing for several years, but it now has no choice.

“And now, at 29-years-old, Cirque has to be mature and look at it [as] a mature company.”

Photo: La Presse

Raw footage from News Conference:

Video: Michel Boyer, CJAD News