(Reuters) – Canadian companies across industries have laid off thousands in recent months as a post-pandemic spending splurge fades and rising interest rates fan fears of a possible recession.
The cuts mirror the tens of thousands of layoffs seen in the United States, where major companies such as Meta Platforms have carried out multiple rounds of retrenchment.
Here are some of the job cuts in Canada in recent months:
Company Layoff
Shopify Inc The e-commerce company in May said it plans to lay off 20% of its
staff. Shopify also cut 10% of its workforce in July last year
Bell The Canadian media and telecom firm is cutting 1,300 jobs, shuttering
six radio stations and selling another three, parent company BCE Inc
said in June
Suncor Energy Canada’s second-biggest oil producer Suncor told employees it plans to
cut 1,500 jobs this year, Reuters reported in June, citing two sources
Canopy Growth Corp The company in February said it would shed assets in Canada and cut 800
job positions as part of the pot producer’s efforts to reduce costs and
turn profitable
TC Energy TC Energy is cutting some jobs to “optimize value”, a company
spokesperson said in June, without giving details of how many positions
have been impacted
Imperial Oil Ltd Imperial Oil said in February it is reducing the number of contractors
working at its Kearl oil sands site in northern Alberta as part of
measures to cut operating costs at the project
Olymel Olymel, one of the country’s biggest pork processors, said in April it
would close a hog plant in Vallee-Jonction, Quebec by late this year,
laying off 994 people
Benevity The Calgary-based tech firm said in January it is laying off 14% of its
workforce, or 137 people
Absolute Software The company said in April that it reduced overall headcount by 40
Corp people, representing about 5% of total employees
Lightspeed Commerce The Montreal-based software firm in January said it is cutting 300
Inc people
(Reporting by Tiyashi Datta and Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
