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Alberta Economic Ft Mac

More Layoffs and Job Cuts Planned by Suncor Energy

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.”

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Alberta Canada Economic Ft Mac

TransCanada Announces 185 Layoffs to Cut Costs

TransCanada,  layoffs

TransCanada, a major pipeline company, has announced layoffs that will affect 185 positions. The announcements show that 100 full time employees will be laid off, and 85 contractors face the same fate. According to Mark Cooper, the spokesman for TransCanada, “These positions were removed following a restructuring of the Major Projects department that was designed to ensure we move forward with our $46-billion capital growth plan. TransCanada is committed to our customers in the Wood Buffalo region and those producers in the oil sands of whose product we ship and to who we deliver natural gas to.” This move is just the latest to impact Alberta and the Wood Buffalo region, with other companies and businesses also reducing staff and cutting programs in order to keep costs down and stay competitive in local and global markets.

In addition to 185 layoffs TransCanada has also delayed some projects. The Keystone XL and the Energy East pipeline are two major projects that have been delayed due to economic reasons. Both of these projects have received substantial publicity in recent months. When oil prices dropped TransCanada started bleeding, with much lower profits from oil sales yet high expenses that did not decrease. Cooper explained “Much of our restructuring is about recognizing the need to ensure we are keeping our overall costs down.” Since oil prices are not expected to reach previous highs any time in the near future this means that companies in the industry must find ways to be more effective and keep costs as low as possible.

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Ft Mac Sports

Keyano Huskies Lose 3 Head Coaches to Layoffs

Keyano Huskies, layoffs

The Keyano Huskies have lost three head coaches due to layoffs. Just a few weeks ago coaches Tommy Sloan, David Petroziello, and Connor Brady were hard at work I their coaching positions, and today all three are looking for employment after receiving a layoff notice. Wade Kolmel, the sport and wellness director for Keyano College, explained “It’s about efficiencies, it’s about looking at your resources. I’ve had to try to plan for what our department’s going to look like in 12 months, 16 months, 18 months and I’m making every effort to conserve resources.” The move is designed to shift the current on campus coaching model to a new model that is off campus instead, and both Brady and Sloan have shown interest in coming back under the new off campus coaching model since both are residents of Fort MacMurray.

When asked about the Kenyano Huskies layoffs Connor Brady said “With my health and safety background, I’ve worked in the industrial industry for a lot of years. With the way things are going, I wasn’t all that surprised.” Tommy Sloan stated “I was laid off from my current contract (due to provincial budget cuts) which was a combined job as a team training programmer with ASDC and (head coach) of (women’s volleyball), but I fully intend to be back as the volleyball coach under the new contract/community coach model.” David Petroziello was less optimitic and said “I’m disappointed that I don’t get to see the continuation of all the work I’ve put in over two year. I worked really hard to try and transform the program into something that can be sustainable. It is disappointing that I’m not going to be able to take the next step and try and take the program to the next level of its development, which is being a consistent competitor in the conference.”