Suncor to cut 1,500 jobs by end of year, employees informed Thursday
Suncor Energy Inc. will cut 1,500 jobs by the end of the year, as new CEO Rich Kruger forges ahead with his mandate to reduce costs and improve the company's lagging financial performance.
Employees were given the news Thursday afternoon, in a companywide email from Kruger, Suncor spokeswoman Sneh Seetal said.
She confirmed the job reductions are new, and not part of the company's previously announced plan to reduce the size of its contractor workforce by 20 per cent in an effort to improve safety and performance at its oilsands sites.
“As a company we needed to make changes that will strengthen our company for the future, and that includes our overall cost structure," Seetal said by phone, adding the 1,500 job losses will be spread across the organization and will affect both employees and contractors.
The reductions amount to about nine per cent of the 16,558 employees that Calgary-based Suncor had at the end of 2022, according to the company's annual information form. However, that tally does not include contractors.
Suncor has been under pressure from shareholders — including activist investor Elliott Investment Management — to improve its financial and share price performance, which has lagged its peers.
The company has also been under fire for a recent spate of operational issues and workplace safety incidents, including a string of deaths.
Earlier this spring, Kruger, the former CEO of Imperial Oil Ltd., was enticed out of retirement to take the reins of Suncor and try to turn around the oilsands giant.
In an interview with The Canadian Press last month, Kruger declined to say whether that would involve layoffs or not. But he said he would "look hard and long at the work people do" to ensure that everything that is being done at the company adds value to the bottom line.
Seetal declined to say whether the bulk of the layoffs would take place at head office or in the field. Suncor employs people across the country, in the U.S. and internationally, with its corporate head office located in Calgary.
But she echoed Kruger's theme of needing to ensure people are doing the work that provides the most value to the organization.
"Work that doesn’t necessarily support regular day-to-day maintenance and operations of assets would be considered (for layoffs), but it’s not necessarily solely office workers," she said.
Seetal said Suncor is committed to treating its employees with dignity and respect throughout what will inevitably be a difficult process.
She also emphasized the company will not make any cuts that could affect worker safety.
In the first quarter of 2023, Suncor earned a $2.05-billion profit. On an adjusted basis, Suncor's reported first-quarter profit was $1.81 billion, a 34 per cent decrease year-over-year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 1, 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned by N.Y. appeals court
New York's highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era in determining the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against the ex-movie mogul that weren't part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
New deep-water channel allows first ship to pass Key bridge wreckage in Baltimore
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.