TransAlta layoffs: 239 more jobs cut, most in Calgary
Power company says it needs to reduce costs to stay competitive
TransAlta announced Tuesday it is cutting 239 positions, most of them at the company's corporate head office in Calgary.
The move is expected to save the power generating company $25 million.
Chief financial officer Donald Tremblay described the job cuts as part of a corporate decision to "streamline operations, decentralize decision-making and reduce management to meet TransAlta's goal of being the lowest-cost producer in Alberta so that we can be profitable in any market condition."
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Earlier this year, TransAlta laid off 247 people from its coal and mining operations in Canada.
"Ongoing economic and regulatory uncertainty has made it necessary for TransAlta to reduce its workforce to control costs and manage the impact of Alberta's economy on demand for electricity," Tremblay said in a statement.
The company will also "focus on providing the most competitive pricing for our customers," he added.
Price-fixing decision
The announcement comes almost a week after the Alberta Utilities Commission ruled it didn't have the authority to force TransAlta to pay consumers back for inflated electricity bills, despite finding the company guilty of price-fixing earlier in the year.
The regulator ruled in July that TransAlta had manipulated prices and engaged in insider training by shutting down six coal-fired generators during periods of peak electricity demand.
Altogether, TransAlta has shed 486 jobs so far in 2015, and they are far from the only company. TransCanada and Cenovus both announced recently cuts are coming in the next few weeks.
PHX Energy Services announced earlier this month it's releasing half of its workforce. Penn West let go of 400 full-time employees and contractors — most of them working at company headquarters in Calgary.
ConocoPhillips Canada also reduced its workforce by about 15 per cent, or 400 employees and 100 contractors.
Nexen announced layoffs earlier this year, as did Talisman Energy.
Tervita — a company that specializes in environmental waste management — also cut its corporate head count by 15 per cent because of the "prolonged downturn in the energy markets."