Suncor Energy Inc. (TSX:SU) is cutting 2,000 jobs, or about 10% of its workforce.
The Canadian oil and gas giant said the job cuts are an attempt to align its business with the current oil price environment. Suncor said it will reduce its headcount by 10% to 15% over the next 12 to 18 months. The Calgary-based company currently employs about 13,000 people, meaning those targets would result in around 2,000 job cuts.
Suncor is reportedly examining all potential avenues to achieve those cuts, including attrition through early retirements and employees taking voluntary buyouts.
Suncor executives have shared in the workforce’s pain, with senior management announcing that they were taking voluntary pay cuts in the face of the global pandemic. Suncor and its oil patch peers have come under pressure from a decline in oil prices precipitated by a lack of demand due to the COVID-19 outbreak. That demand shortfall has prompted a number of prominent industry associations, including the International Energy Agency, to cut their outlooks.
Suncor has also faced operational challenges, with a fire at its Base Plant facility and subsequent repair turnaround time prompting the firm to trim its production outlook. Suncor is estimating average production of between 680,000 and 710,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, down from the range of 800,000 and 840,000 barrels of oil per day that it forecast last December.
