SNC-Lavalin cutting 405 jobs in Canada, most in mining segment
by The Canadian Press
Cuts at Montreal-based infrastructure firm follow major layoffs earlier this year; majority of eliminated positions in Ontario, Quebec
The company’s headquarters on René-Lévesque Boulevard in Montreal. It will cut nearly 200 jobs in both Quebec and Ontario, as well as 24 in Saskatchewan. PHOTO: Gene Arboit, via Wikimedia Commons
MONTREAL—Engineering giant SNC-Lavalin is cutting another 405 jobs in Canada due to the weakness in the mining sector and ongoing efforts to boost its profit margin.
Spokesman Louis-Antoine Paquin says the company will eliminate 186 positions in Montreal, 195 in Ontario and 24 in Saskatoon, says spokesman Louis-Antoine Paquin.
About 70 per cent of the positions are in the mining and metallurgy division.
SNC-Lavalin’s office in Sudbury, Ont., will close, although employees will work directly with customers at their operations.
SNC-Lavalin has a goal of increasing its adjusted margin to seven per cent next year, up from 4.3 per cent in the first nine months of 2016.
Earlier this year, the The Montreal-based company cut 950 jobs around the world, including 600 in Canada. That followed the elimination of 4,000 positions in 2014.
Despite the series of job cuts, SNC-Lavalin’s global workforce will be a little more than 39,000 at the end of the year, up 2,000 from a year ago due to hirings in other sectors.
More hirings are expected next year as the firm opens an office in Kingston, Ont., that specializes in transportation.
The company also plans to add 1,200 positions if it wins big infrastructure contracts and 300 positions in nuclear energy.
