CALGARY -- Calgary-based oil and gas giant Suncor Energy says it will reduce its workforce by 10 to 15 per cent over the next year-and-a-half.

Approximately 2,000 positions will be lost as a result of the move.

The company says much of that reduction could come through early retirements or voluntary severance packages, and the first wave of cuts will happen within the next 6 months.

Suncor Energy is the third large energy company to announce staffing cuts in recent weeks, with Shell and Marathon Oil making similar decisions.

Canada’s oil and gas industry has been devastated in recent months;  first by a price war among some OPEC nations followed by a plunge in demand for their product in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This is a developing story. it will be updated throughout the day.