ConocoPhillips Canada says it plans to lay off 250 to 300 employees this September, with the vast majority of cuts coming from its Calgary head office.
Company spokesman Rob Evans said Friday the cuts are part of a global staff realignment to match future activity levels, with Canada looking less attractive than some of its other operations.
“Low commodity prices, combined with our inability to get product to new markets, has resulted in lower prices in Canada relative to other parts of the world,” Evans said in an email.
“Coupled with increased local cost pressures such as corporate taxes, regulatory compliance costs and property taxes, staying competitive in a global portfolio is a challenge for some parts of our Canadian business.”
He said staff were told about the coming job cuts Thursday, but that details of how it will affect specific parts of the business are still being worked out.
The cuts at ConocoPhillips’ Canadian operations form part of the roughly 1,000 job cuts the company plans across its North American operations.
READ MORE: ConocoPhillips, Penn West cut over 900 oil and gas jobs
On Thursday, AltaGas confirmed it had laid off 70 staff after shelving or selling some natural gas projects.
The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers estimates at least 44,000 direct jobs have been lost in the oil and gas industry since the downturn started.
READ MORE: A timeline tracking the layoffs in Alberta’s oilpatch
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