CALGARY – Imperial Oil’s plans to cut 20 per cent of its workforce by the end of 2027 comes as part of a wider trend of industry job cuts as producers look to boost efficiencies amid lower oil prices and the availability of new technology.
The company says the reductions, numbering about 1,000 based on an employee count of 5,100 as of the end of last year, comes at it looks to use technology to maximize the value of its existing assets.
The cuts follow Cenovus Energy Inc. confirming layoffs in May, while Suncor Energy Inc. cutting about 1,500 staff in an efficiency push in 2023.
A report last month from the Pembina Institute says the cuts have been part of a wider shift in the industry that has seen the number of workers per barrel produced in Canada trend downward over the past decade as companies focus less on large sources of new production.
The report found that before the 2014 oil price collapse there was a peak of 38 direct oil and gas jobs per thousand barrel produced, while as of 2023 that had fallen by 43 per cent to 22 direct jobs per thousand barrels.
Careers in Energy, a division of Energy Safety Canada, however still sees long-term growth in employment, forecasting in a report early last year that it expects the energy industry to add between 41,600 and 46,500 direct jobs between 2022 and 2035.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 30, 2025.
Companies in this story: (TSX:IMO)