A camp built by Horizon North
Image Credit: horizonnorth.ca
February 05, 2016 - 1:00 PM
KAMLOOPS - More lay offs at the Horizon North Logistics location in Kamloops after the company was forced to cut jobs for the third time in a one-year period.
CEO Rod Graham says the company’s workforce has gone from 1,900 to around 1,300 in the last 12 months, citing a decline in oil prices and other commodities as the main reason. The Calgary-based company erects temporary housing and other buildings for work camps in the energy sector.
“We’ve had a series of jobs deferred, delayed or cancelled,” Graham says, noting the company could no longer justify its workforce due to a lack of projects.
“You name the commodity and unfortunately there’s a black cloud over it,” he says.
The most recent cut, announced yesterday Feb. 4, will affect 87 workers at the company’s Kamloops location. Graham says 39 employees were laid off while 48 others were temporarily laid off and could get a call back to work once there’s an industry uptick.
This week’s reduction follows two similar rounds of lay offs in January and March of 2015 affecting a total of 98 workers.
Graham says its difficult to put an exact number on the total job loss; some staff came back after initial cuts and either stayed on the payroll or were let go again.
“It’s heart-wrenching to go through this. I can’t underscore that enough,” Graham says. “The people of Kamloops have been wonderful."
Despite a reduced workforce, Graham says company executives are looking for innovative projects that extend beyond the energy sector to keep staff working. He says modular homes or multiplex condos are job possibilities in the future.
For more stories on Horizon North Logistics, click here.
To contact the reporter for this story, email Glynn Brothen at gbrothen@infonews.ca or call 250-319-7494. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
News from © iNFOnews, 2016