Enbridge cuts 5% of work force as company copes with energy downturn

Its rival, TransCanada Corp., signalled that it, too, is getting set to announce more job cuts, adding to the gloom in the sector that has worsened as crude oil prices have been depressed for more than a year.

Canada’s largest pipeline company Enbridge Inc. confirmed it laid off 500 people on Monday and will not be hiring for an additional 100 unfilled positions.

“Reductions are from all across the enterprise both in Canada and the USA, and have nothing whatsoever to do with the government announcement on Friday regarding tanker bans”, Enbridge said Monday. Half the cuts are in Alberta.

“Although these actions are necessary to maintain our competitiveness, our company is on very strong financial and strategic footing and we will continue to grow”, White said. “Northern Gateway has not been impacted by the cuts”, he said.

Cooper went on to say that the company intends to eliminate redundancies and inefficiencies that have been identified to make the company more effective moving forward.

Calgary, Alberta-based Enbridge, which runs its US operations out of Houston, said the cuts come out to roughly 5 percent of its workforce.

Spokesperson Mark Cooper said the company is ensuring “all employees have the opportunity to hear information from their leaders first”. “Until all managers, employees and contractors are notified, we are unable to provide detail on employee or contractor reductions”, TransCanada’s Terry Cunha said.

U.S. President Barack Obama rejected TransCanada’s cross-border Keystone XL pipeline earlier this month and the company is now weighing its options.