Enbridge Inc. reported Wednesday that it is laying off 5 percent of its workforce after an organizational review - including about 50 employees in the Twin Ports.
In total, the oil pipeline company said the cuts will total 530 people, affecting 370 positions in Canada and 160 in the United States.
Enbridge spokesman Michael Barnes provided the News Tribune with a statement saying the workforce reduction is a “difficult step” after the organizational review that was launched in the first quarter of 2016.
“Throughout this process, Enbridge is committed to treating people fairly and with respect,” he said. “We are providing support to those leaving the company, as well as those who remain.”
The review “focused on what we need to do to achieve our strategy of growth and diversification, enhance our competitiveness, and allow us to capitalize on opportunities now and into the future,” the company said. Calgary, Alberta-based Enbridge said the review and the job cuts are not related to the company's $28 billion acquisition of Canadian pipeline operator Spectra Energy Corp., which Enbridge announced in September.
The cut is not the first employee reduction by Enbridge since oil prices fell into a two-year slump. Last November, Enbridge cut 5 percent of its workforce, which at the time represented about 500 positions in Canada and the United States, as well as 100 unfilled positions. Those layoffs included about 40 employees in Enbridge’s Twin Ports operations, Minnesota Public Radio reported.
Tens of thousands of jobs have been lost in both the Canadian and U.S. oil and gas sector since prices crashed in mid-2014.
Earlier this year Enbridge halted plans for its divisive Sandpiper pipeline that would bring Bakken oil from North Dakota across Minnesota to Superior. Enbridge cited market conditions and regulatory delays when it announced the move.
Environmental groups were active in opposing the project, and the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission last year voted to suspend its approval of a key permit for Sandpiper after the state Court of Appeals ruled that the PUC erred in not conducting a comprehensive environmental review before granting the pipeline a so-called "certificate of need."
In August, a month before announcing Sandpiper's delay, Enbridge said it was buying a stake in the contentious Dakota Access pipeline, which has come under scrutiny as Native American tribes across the nation have gathered to protest on the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota.
Reuters contributed to this report.
