By Robb M. Stewart


Enbridge plans to cut about 5% of its workforce in the coming weeks in an effort to cut costs and weather what it sees as near-term challenges.

The Calgary, Alberta, energy company said Tuesday it will reduce its workforce by about 650 employees. The cuts will take place in February and be complete by the start of March.

A spokeswoman for Enbridge, which has about 12,000 employees across North America, said specifics weren't yet available on how the move would impact business units or regions.

"While we delivered strong financial performance in 2023, cost reduction measures are necessary to maintain our financial strength, be more cost competitive and enable us to grow," Enbridge said in a statement.

The company said persistent headwinds, including higher interest rates, economic uncertainty and the ripple effects of geopolitical developments, have contributed to increasingly challenging business conditions across many industries.

The company said that to help minimize the impact it would first look at reducing vacancies, contract positions and redeploying people where possible.

In late November, Enbridge forecast earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization for its base business of between 16.6 billion Canadian dollars ($11.9 billion) and C$17.2 billion, up from the C$15.9 billion to C$16.5 billion it has projected for last year. Financial results for 2023 are scheduled to be released Feb. 9.

The Calgary Herald newspaper reported the job cuts earlier Tuesday.


Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

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