Thread regarding Imperial Oil Limited layoffs

@12z protectionism for workers don't work out so well for our brothers in Norway

@12r
All this mumbo jumbo is just protectionism and was the hallmark of left wing policies which were systematically replaced with right wing bias policies for 40 years.
The rise of China or India was centric to these policy changes.
And this is not new, this has been happening since the last century. You should watch the documentary Commanding Heights and read the book "the world is flat" in 2005. You seem to be new to this but its has been happening for multiple decades.
The commodity bo-m especially oil bo-m that Alberta saw starting in 2002 when prices were $20/ barrel on a good day and rose to 140+/ barrel were because these major players (China and India) were rapidly industrializing and making capital investments which created massive energy demand. In addition, people who got jobs were buying lots of vehicles for the first time in their lives and this raised their oil demand rapidly. That is the reason oil demand rose so much and is at 100 million barrels/ day.

Computer companies offshored everything in services and engineering type of operations, the affect was so severe that University of Calgary cancelled its Computer Engineering program because it was the fastest way to unemployment. All the companies like Nortel Sanmina which had some base in Calgary and Ottawa moved offshore and the entire industry disappeared in Canada. USA has a bigger economy but they paid a hefty price too. People like you wanted cheaper goods designed and manufactured abroad, so there were no peeps. But now that it is your turn, suddenly protectionism is the suddenly so attractive. It is called sectional interests in economic parlance.

This is not new, its been happening for many decades. It is just your turn now. All those cheap TV, and phones and cars and cheaply available services and everything else are cheap because they were made in these low cost countries else you would pay a lot more for them. The reason why oil prices shot up (65 dollars a barrel is nearly 3 times the price what it was in 2002) is because these nations were importing lots of oil for their industrialization and Alberta was reaping the benefits. The reason Ontario didn't benefit and actually experienced frequent downturns is because they were big on manufacturing and tech both of which suffered massive offshoring for last 30 years.

This sudden realization amongst Imperial folks about basic free market economics is irrelevant, its been happening for a long time and will continue unabated.

Communism was a branch of socialism also called state capitalism which sought to hand over control of companies (Imperial oil in your case to the state) to the government which looked after the interest of its citizens and distributed the fruits among its employees with more fairness supposedly to reduce inequality. So if there is any offshoring to raise profits, you would receive a larger chunk of the profits being the owner of the corporation via the government essentially similar to a crown corporation.
Private ownership and capitalism on the other hand looks for mechanisms to maximize profits and reduced headcount is one of the consequences.

The prime reason socialism (the type you find in Nordic countries in particular and Europe in general with high taxes and stronger state control over private enterprises) which is protectionist towards workers (and specific industries like the car industry in Germany) and communism was popular is because of the protection that it accorded to the workers. The bolsheviks in Russia were just people like yourself wanting bigger chunk of what they produced and guaranteed minimum standard of living.

This is and always has been control of policy and means of production and who gets to keep the profits. Nations etc subordinate to economics like Venezuela, Cuba and Argentina are learning right now.

@120
Canada and the U.S. need offshoring rules because jobs aren’t just numbers, they support families, communities, and the middle class. Offshoring drains taxes, sparks local economic ripples, and weakens social stability. Like policies for temporary foreign workers, a framework balances global competitiveness with protecting people’s livelihoods at home.
It’s simple, still people confuse this with Capitalism vs Communism
You can’t hand over your nation to foreigners in the name of capitalism. Policies aren’t constraints—they shape innovation, growth, and a vibrant free market while protecting the middle class, which is the backbone of true capitalism. Otherwise, what remains is a system that serves only oligarchs, not ordinary citizens.

@g9
You sound like a unionized NDP voter who can't hold onto a job so seeks a union to protect it.
As Alberta goes forward, don't be surprised that unions in the oil sands will also be affected and liquidated to ensure more business friendly environment that Trump and Regan started in USA.
Smith already took unionized workers of the AHS and changed their gold plated pension plans, reducing costs for the provincial government. IOL is doing the same and more efficiencies will follow and IOL and EM and everyone will make bumper profits again.
Don't be surprised that in the future, Smith will bring about a private Healthcare system where not everyone will be forced to cover the cost of other people's Healthcare USA and India style. You will only bear the cost of your own Healthcare not anyone else's!!!!!
Political systems produce policies, they are deeply tied and there will be a major shift coming. All that wishy washy NDP protectionist bias in policy will be replaced with cold hard business focussed policy.
You have been warned.

@k6
EM or any private company will only go to such a place if it makes financial sense.
If a country imposes these restrictions, and BTW 50% employees are locals is a very low threshold, then no private company will open shop there.
The only reason they opened shop there is because it is cost effective with significantly low salaries a f helping EM or IOL reach their financial objectives.
Other sectors have been doing it for decades now and reaping great rewards.

But if anyone wants to stop it, it would be have to be a Canadian who is Trump like in character and who will force private companies to oblige with a socialist manifesto. Like NDP, they are usually big on protecting the local workers and offering competitive salaries. But NDP has no support in Alberta or Canada so not sure how far it can go.

@jw
Never, ever, not to any country.
In India, many states have laws that force companies (private/public) to hire at least 50% of their workforce from locals who were either born there or studied there through high school. That’s the reality.
It’s shocking that we’re still sending jobs to a country with such rules.

@a4
I'm pretty sure India wouldn't let one of their companies offshore to Bangladesh.

@f7
Thinking like this is exactly why we’re in this mess. How can people be so clueless that they can’t tell the difference between policy shaping and the political system?
Instead, they start throwing around communism blah blah blah

@f8
Everything you just said is proof of why we shouldn’t be sending jobs to India.
Incompetent
Unempathetic
Senseless
Discriminatory

@dh
That is because the Indians are a hard working bunch without a sense of entitlement. That is why even Houston has lost a lot of people to BTC especially during covid.
A privately owned/ publicly traded corporation will seek ways to enhance efficiency and boosting profits by reducing headcount and improving productivity.
I remeber 2022, EM and Imperial oil were making bumper profits with people getting big raises, EM made their best ever in history $60Billion in profits. But the low efficiency has led to massive drop in profits. This is a reminder to people, tighten your belts, work hard or else, its going to be your turn next.

All this nonsense about resistance a d changing laws, it sounds like a bunch of NDP communists are trying to tke control while businesses see their profits drop. This is not the USSR, it is a publicly traded company with private hedge fu ds and individuals owing the company and making decisions for the profit of the shareholder.
And don't even think about unionizing, this isn't Quebec.
UCP, just like Trump is creating a great business environment where capital investment is thriving and there are bound to be some collateral damage but the hard working business minded focused will excel and thrive.
You should feel lucky the province doesn't have private Healthcare yet, in USA anyone who loses their jobs also loses their Healthcare and if they fall sick, can even end up being bankrupt.
Once Alberta separates itself from liberal communist canada, watch all those slackers who want to coast while drawing a fat paycheck end up on the street like those public workers in USA today who have lost their pay was their government shuts down and people are losing their Medicaid and Medicare. You people have no idea what's coming with AI and Albertan separation and pure right wing business investment culture.
All the co-mies are going to go broke unless they tighten their belts and learn to be productive high achievers instead of expecting handouts!!!!!

@ej
It’s all lie… there is no point in sending jobs to high cost centre .. some roles are moving but in return there will definitely big number of roles being moved to BTC from Houston too

I hope OP is one of the HR getting cut, karma for siding with the company on everything against the employee.

It’s not just India picking up the jobs, Houston is also absorbing ~20% of the cut jobs. How much is XOM going to charge Imperial for the use of those 200 people as well as the TCs and the GBCs?
If this was truly an Imperial Oil MC decision, how did it coincide with an almost identical announcement in Europe and global press releases from XOM about 2000 job cuts? Where’s the Corporate Separateness?

FYI - I had to get in touch with the CRA back in March...CRA is also using India Technical Centers...good luck with whatever you're hoping to accomplish.

Who will carry the momentum over the summer when everyone in Calgary is out on vacation for a month?

Don't forget to mention that this is all being done while they are buying back shares at record pace, sending billions to EM in the US on a tax advantaged basis.

Thank you. I think this is the best thing we can, and should do. This is not only for us, but for our next generation too.

For those that vote UCP… Danielle ain’t doing sh-t for you. Or the next Danielle.

Just remember that ugly capitalism trumps all.

@ap private means non governmental in this case. Publicly traded means nothing when it comes to the ability to lay off or fire who they want. Hope that clears it up for you, since you have no idea what you are talking about.

@a4
Imperial Oil is NOT a private company FYI. They are a publicly traded company. I don’t think you understand the difference.

My second comment is to the original poster: This post is exactly why your job is being eliminated. You created it in about 4 seconds using AI.

@a7
I agree. There are a few things, which are actually possible:-

1. Alberta could link oil sands royalty discounts to maintaining a minimum number of Canadian employees
2. Require companies to report offshoring In filling, specially with AER.
3. an additional tax or surcharge could be applied to offshore positions.

@a5 it is asinine. There are laws in place that allow them to do so. What you're talking about is Nationalizing energy or controling the means of production. You could make laws to ban offshoring any jobs, no hiring foreign workers and having to prove there are no Canadians or Albertans willing and able to take those jobs but both main parties in Canada like those things. So it's a dream world and will never happen outside of a revolutionary shift in politics. It's not going to change for a few hundred imperial workers. Especially when most of Canada hates Albertans and oil and gas.

Good grief are you joking? These people don’t care about you. “The lowest corporate tax rate” isn’t supposed to keep your job safe. You don’t like it? Maybe don’t vote for the same doofuses every year.

@a4
Private company? Sure. But private companies that use public resources, tax breaks, and subsidies are always shaped by national policy — look at carbon pricing, pipeline approvals, minimum wage laws, or even royalty rates. If government policy can set those terms, it can also demand accountability on jobs. This isn’t asinine — it’s common sense

It's a private company. They can restructure, lay off or fire who they want. Unless you're planning on nationalizing them and the rest of the oil companies , what you're talking about is not only pointless, it's asinine.

Please share this with your colleagues, friends, and family.
This is the least we can do.
For many, this is the first time facing layoffs of this scale — but the truth is, it will keep repeating every 3–4 years, across roles, across companies. Speak now before it’s too late.

Remember: politicians and regulators will not come to you or ask what they can do. You must reach out, pressure them, and hold them accountable. Nothing is impossible — even we know these current layoffs can’t be reversed, we can fight to stop future ones

@a1 then write to your respective MLA and MP.

It’s not just Calgary people losing their jobs.