Can a company reorganization or restructuring amount to constructive dismissal in Ontario?

Yes. A restructuring can amount to constructive dismissal if it results in a significant unilateral change to an essential term of an employee's role - a substantial demotion, a major cut to compensation, or a fundamental change to responsibilities and reporting structure - even where the employer's underlying business reasons for reorganizing were entirely legitimate and made good commercial sense.

Having a genuine, good-faith business reason for the restructuring does not automatically protect an employer from a constructive dismissal claim if the practical effect on a specific employee still breaches a fundamental term of their employment contract. Courts focus on the actual impact the change had on the individual employee's position, not simply on whether the company's broader decision to reorganize made sound business sense in general terms. Employers going through a legitimate restructuring can still expose themselves to constructive dismissal claims if they do not carefully manage how those changes are implemented for each affected employee, which is why significant role changes during a reorganization are often handled as a negotiated departure rather than assumed to be risk-free.