Alberta’s giant Suncor Energy Inc. eliminating 1500 positions

By the end of the year, Suncor Energy Inc. will eliminate 1,500 positions as new CEO Rich Kruger pushes on with his goals to slash expenses and boost the company’s underwhelming financial performance. According to Suncor spokeswoman Sneh Seetal, the news was delivered to staff members in a company-wide email from Kruger on Thursday afternoon.

The company’s previously declared plan to cut the number of its contractor workforce by 20% in an effort to improve safety and performance at its oilsands locations, she said, has not been followed by the new job cuts.

According to the company’s annual disclosure form, the cutbacks represent nearly 9% of the 16,558 employees that Calgary-based Suncor had by the end of 2022. Contractors are not included in that total though.

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Activist investor Elliott Investment Management and other shareholders have been pressuring Suncor to raise its share price and improve its financial performance, which has trailed behind its competitors. The business has additionally been under scrutiny for a recent record of operational problems and events involving workplace safety, including a number of fatalities.

Suncor had a $2.05 billion profit in the first three months of 2023. Suncor’s reported first-quarter earnings was $1.81 billion on an adjusted basis, a 34% year-over-year decline.