Suncor job cuts to total 1,000

CALGARY – Suncor on Thursday said job cuts are expected to total 1,000 as it moves to consolidate last month’s merger with Petro-Canada.

The layoffs affect contractors and head office jobs such as IT and human resources, said Suncor spokesman Brad Bellows. In addition, some upstream positions where the two companies had overlap were eliminated.

"This has been a difficult time," he said in an interview. "But Suncor remains one of the largest employers in Alberta and one of the largest private sector investors in the country."

The 1,000 jobs represent almost 7.8 percent of the 12,886 combined staff Suncor and Petro-Canada employed at the end of last year.

The cuts came as Suncor looks to make good on promises to chop operating expenses by $300 million a year following its purchase of Petro-Canada.

“We are already seeing significant savings through integration of our product marketing logistics and economies of scale in our supply chain,” Rick George, Suncor’s chief executive, said in a statement. “Unfortunately, bringing two large businesses together has also meant that some of the efficiencies are necessarily through work force reductions.”

Suncor also said it will shift management of the international and offshore operations to its Calgary headquarters from London following a 90-day consultation period mandated by U.K. laws.

It did not say how many staff would be cut because of that move.

Suncor shares rose 6 Canadian cents to $33.05 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Thursday.

With files from Scott Haggett, Reuters