WINNIPEG — Investors Group is the latest prominent Manitoba employer to announce job cuts.
The company is eliminating 80 positions across the country including 30 in Winnipeg, trimming its Manitoba workforce by two per cent.
“It’s a competitive world and my job as the CEO of this company is to make sure we have a long-lasting competitive value proposition for the market place,” said Investors Group president and CEO Jeff Carney.
Those cuts come on the heels of Great-West Life announcing 450 jobs would be lost in Manitoba last week.
READ MORE: Great-West Lifeco to slash 1,500 jobs over 2 years
Jobs are also being eliminated from the province’s public sector. Manitoba Hydro is looking to slash 900 positions while the provincial government, crown corporations and health regions are cutting 15 per cent of management positions.
“Working for major financial companies, working for the government, they’re no longer secure as those groups have to retrench, resize in order to be competitive,” said economist Rob Warren.
READ MORE: Manitoba Hydro to cut 900 positions
Jobs that were once looked at safe and secure are being threatened by different aspects of a changing economy, he continued.
“What we’ve seen for Manitoba is kind of the worst case scenario that all of our pillars at one time are being attacked in one way shape or form,” said Warren.
While jobs at traditionally prominent employers are disappearing by the hundreds, other employment opportunities are emerging, said human resources expert Barbara Bowes.
“There’s lots of small businesses that would really value the skill sets these individuals can bring to the table,” said Bowes.
“But you have to get into your mind that that’s an opportunity because you’d be going from big to small but with small you have more control,” she said.
The recent job cuts underscore how the job market has changed compared to decades ago, Bowes continued.
“We’re saying 7 – 10 career moves, perhaps different industry sectors, different jobs, different careers, that’s the world as it is today,” she said.
While small businesses may offer alternative employment opportunities for people losing their jobs or those looking to enter the workforce, Warren questions how many people they’re ready to hire and how competitive their compensation packages would be.
“Those people have to decide to take a lower paying job if there’s one available which means they’re not spending as much or you have the age old problem in Manitoba where we see a migration of our younger people,” said Warren.
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