Cuts are coming at Enbridge across Ontario.
The energy giant has announced cuts to staff and costs because of the negative impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the low price of oil.
Enbridge's Manager of External Communications and Media Relations Andrea Stass tells Blackburn News the company is cutting capital and operational costs at all of its sites across the province, including Chatham, to meet the challenge.
Stass said the measures to reduce labour costs don't include company-wide layoffs but employees are being offered buyout packages and non-union wages are being cut. She said employees can voluntarily select early retirement, severance, educational or personal leaves of absence, or part-time work. The decision to trim payroll spending also includes reducing base pay across the non-union workforce at Enbridge, starting from the top with a 15 per cent salary cut to members of the Board of Directors and the Chief Executive Officer and a 10 per cent wage cut to Executive Vice Presidents.
"We will continue to be disciplined in our spending to ensure the continued strength of Enbridge over the long term," said Stass.
She added that out of respect for employees, Enbridge has decided not to publicly release more detailed information about numbers in specific regions. Stass later said no buildings will be closed at Enbridge Gas, and there are no staff relocations anticipated as a result of the voluntary work reductions.
She concluded by saying Enbridge is a "resilient company" but is not immune to the unprecedented nature of the current COVID-19 crisis or the global oil price shock which is affecting that side of its business.
Enbridge employs nearly 4,500 people in Ontario and paid almost $383 million in base salary across the province last year, according to its website.
Enbridge also reported more than $900 million in capital spending in Ontario, on such items as pipe steel, gas infrastructure equipment purchases and replacement, system integrity-related investments, and capital leases.
The company added that operating and administrative expenditures in Ontario, on such items as maintenance costs, equipment leases, power consumption, and field personnel salaries and wages, totalled $1.55 billion.
