Suncor Energy has confirmed that the company will be engaging in more job cuts and layoffs although an exact number of the jobs affected or the disposition of these jobs has not been addressed yet. Oil has now gone up past $40 a barrel, leading some to hope that things were turning around for the region and local economy. In the last few years company after company has cut jobs, laid off workers, and trimmed spending and expenses in order to stay competitive. The announcement by Suncor shows that the economy has still not fully rebounded and things are still somewhat tough for oil companies in the current environment.

Sneh Seetal, the spokesperson for Suncor Energy, recently gave an interview and discussed the planned job cuts and layoffs. “In regards to which oilsands projects we’ll be looking at, some of this is the in situ replication work. There’s no set number, because we need to make the business decisions and decide what’s the work that needs to be done, while doing it efficiently and making it sustainable. That will be the workforce we need as we go into the future.” Seetal also stated “As we make those adjustments to our workforce, our workforce requirements will change and unfortunately this means some people will leave the organization. This is a stressful time for people, but we are committed to treating people with dignity and respect. This continuation of our cost reduction efforts and our need to be a low cost operator is to maintain our competitive position, regardless of different market cycles.”