Suncor to slash 1,500 jobs amid cost-cutting plan

Suncor Energy will eliminate 1,500 positions as the company's new chief executive announced an immediate plan to cut costs by $400 million by the end of this year.

Rich Kruger notified staff about the plan on Thursday in an email, describing how the company needs to reduce its staffing costs related to its competitors in the oilpatch.

Images of Kruger's email were shared with CBC News by employees at the company.

"Staffing reductions will occur at all levels of the organization and will be based on both performance and business need. As we do this, we will eliminate work, critically looking at what we do, why we do it, how we do it and the value it adds," Kruger told staff in the message.

"I assure you that decisions like these, that affect people and their lives, are not easy to make or taken lightly. However, at this time, they are necessary to ensure the ongoing competitiveness of our company," he said.

In an interview with CBC News last month following the company's annual general meeting, Kruger didn't rule out job cuts, but said there were other ways of reducing costs besides layoffs.

Kruger became CEO on April 3, pledging to transform the company into a "simpler and more focused organization" under his leadership.

In an emailed statement, spokesperson Sneh Seetal did not provide any additional details.

"Suncor is always looking for opportunities to drive value and improve performance in our business, cost reduction is one of those opportunities," she said.

The company had 16,558 full- and part-time employees at the end of 2022, which was a decrease from 16,922 one year prior, according to company documents.

About 60 per cent of Suncor's employees are connected to its oilsands operations. 

In February, Suncor announced it earned $2.74 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022, a 76-per-cent increase from the $1.55 billion it earned in the same three months of 2021.