Atco president and CEO Nancy Southern addresses shareholders at the company's annual meeting in Calgary in 2014.TODD KOROL/Reuters
Atco Ltd. has joined a long list of Alberta-based companies who have slashed their workforce, although the company will not provide any detail regarding how many of its 9,000 workers across the globe have been affected by the job cuts.
"ATCO is responding to the extremely challenging economic times," Carson Ackroyd, vice-president, marketing and communications for the ATCO Group, said in an e-mail on Wednesday.
"We remain dedicated to the communities we have the privilege to work in and are committed to providing safe and reliable services to our customers. We wish to thank all of the people of ATCO – past and present – for their tremendous contributions to our company."
Mr. Ackroyd didn't provide a more specific reason for the layoff notices given Wednesday at the family controlled, publicly traded company. Headquartered in Calgary and headed by Nancy Southern, Atco has its hand in a sprawling array of international ventures, including modular construction trailers, electricity transmission, pipelines and natural gas distribution. It also has an ownership position in 15 power generation plants in Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Australia.
This year, Alberta has shed thousands of jobs in its energy sector and related industries. The job losses are due in large part to the low price of crude oil and the resulting downturn in activity in the province's oil and gas industry.
Kelly Cryderman