Canada's Enbridge says 800 workers take voluntary buyouts

Enbridge Inc, Canada’s largest pipeline operator, said on Wednesday about 800 employees have opted for voluntary buyouts, as the company tries to reduce costs to tackle the COVID-19 crisis and the global oil price shock, as reported by Reuters.

In an email response to Reuters, Calgary-based Enbridge said it was offering employees the option to voluntarily select early retirement, severance, leaves of absence or part-time work.

“As a result of these actions, we won’t need to pursue company-wide layoffs at this time,” a company spokesperson said.

Enbridge is reducing base pay across its non-union workforce, with the board of directors and CEO Al Monaco taking a 15% cut and the company’s executive vice presidents taking a 10% cut.

A recent plunge in global crude prices due to a pandemic-driven drop in demand and excess supply has battered Canada, the world’s fourth-largest crude producer.

Last month, Enbridge said it has deferred C$1 billion ($737.57 million) in capital spending and cut costs by C$300 million, including salary cuts and retirements.

(This story corrects paragraph 4 to clarify that the pay-cut range of 10% to 15% is for Enbridge’s directors, CEO and EVPs, and not across the non-union workforce)

Reporting by Shradha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Devika Syamnath