Suncor to cut 1,500 jobs by end of year

Suncor Energy will cut 1,500 jobs by the end of the year, as new CEO Rich Kruger forges ahead with his mandate to reduce costs and improve the company’s lagging financial performance.

Employees were given the news Thursday afternoon, in a companywide email.

The reductions amount to about nine per cent of the 16,558 employees that Calgary-based Suncor had at the end of 2022, according to the company’s annual information form. However, that tally does not include contractors.

The company has also been under fire for a recent spate of operational issues and workplace safety incidents, including a string of deaths.

Earlier this spring, Kruger, the former CEO of Imperial Oil Ltd., was enticed out of retirement to take the reins of Suncor and try to turn around the oilsands giant.

It’s unclear whether the bulk of the layoffs would take place at head office or in the field. Suncor employs people across the country, in the U.S. and internationally, with its corporate head office located in Calgary.