Employees at the Calgary-based energy company Cenovus got an unexpected bad news surprise when they showed up at the office on Wednesday.

Cenovus says employees were not removed from database, but rather were unable to access computer work tools on Cenovus' internal system, forcing the company to inform the employees immediately of their dismissal.

The move prevented employee access to work tools on Cenovus' internal system, forcing the company to inform the employees immediately of their dismissal.

Spokesperson Brett Harris admits the layoffs did not go as planned. “We made a mistake. It’s the last thing we wanted to happen.”

The energy company began laying off 540 employees last week. The layoffs are now complete, Cenovus says.