Suncor cutting 1,000 jobs, taking $1 billion out of 2015 budget amid oil rout

CALGARY — Suncor Energy Inc. (TSX:SU) is reducing its workforce by 1,000 and cutting $1 billion from its capital budget in response to plummeting crude oil prices.

The Calgary-based oilsands giant says the job cuts will mainly affect contractors, but include some employee positions as well.

In November, Suncor predicted capital spending for 2015 would range between $7.2 billion and $7.8 billion.

Projects that haven’t yet been given a final go-ahead by Suncor’s board are being deferred, such as expansions to the MacKay River project in northeastern Alberta and the White Rose development off the east coast.

But major projects under construction such as the $13.5-billion Fort Hills mine north of Fort McMurray, Alta., and the Hebron field in offshore Newfoundland are moving ahead as planned.

U.S. benchmark crude oil prices settled at US$45.89 a barrel on Tuesday, less than half of where they were just six months ago.