Irving Oil lays off 60 workers at its refinery in Saint John due to COVID-19

Irving Oil announced Thursday that 60 Saint John refinery employees were laid off by the company due to COVID-19 impact on their business.

Earlier this year, the company said it made the decision to reduce their contractor workforce at the Saint John refinery to 225 from a typical 1,000-person workforce.

In addition, on Thursday, approximately 60 Saint John refinery employees left the organization, representing seven per cent of their Saint John refinery team.

“The collapse in demand for motor fuels, jet fuel and other refined products, together with extreme market volatility, serious negative impacts to refining margins and high levels of uncertainty about the depth and duration of the downturn in our economies, continue to create prolonged and significant challenges,” the company said in a statement.

As a result of these challenges, Irving Oil said it had to make major changes to the way they operate.

“We are sorry for the impact that these actions have had on our team. We are committed to supporting our employees through this difficult transition and are very thankful for all they have contributed to our business.”