The Canadian subsidiary of the China National Offshore Oil Corproation (CNOOC) has laid off workers at its Long Lake site south of Fort McMurray and staff at its Calgary office.

The layoffs were confirmed by company spokesperson Brittney Price in a Thursday morning email. The company is not releasing how many jobs were cut or where those positions were.

However, current and former staff tell the Today that up to 30 per cent of Long Lake workers and roughly 60 per cent of staff across Canada, mostly in Calgary, lost their jobs this week.

“As with all companies on our industry, we must take actions to remain competitive amongst our peers and ensure our long-term economic viability,” said Price. “With the challenging market environment, we have made strategic decisions to manage our capital and costs effectively and ensure we can drive long-term value from our North American assets.”

Before the COVID-19 pandemic and sudden drop in global oil prices, CNOOC’s Canadian presence had already been struggling.

CNOOC has struggled with its oilsands presence since purchasing the Calgary-based Nexen for $15.1 billion in 2012.

In 2015, the company cut 400 staff, mostly in Canada, while scaling back spending following a collapse in global oil prices in late 2014.

That same year, a pipeline spilled an estimated five million litres of emulsion at the Long Lake facility. An investigation determined the pipeline leaked for more than a month before a contractor discovered the rupture.

In March 2016, the company laid off another 120 staff because of economic difficulties.

In July 2016, the company let go of another 350 staff between its Calgary office and Long Lake site, following an explosion that damaged its upgrader and killed two people. The upgrader has not been repaired.

In 2017, Wood Buffalo’s council rejected CNOOC’s request for a $19.5-million break in municipal property taxes.

This past June, the company let go of 100 people from its Calgary office.

CNOOC’s Canadian layoffs were announced the same day Statistics Canada data posted its worst recorded single-month change on record.

Alberta’s economy lost 117,000 jobs in March, with Canada losing more than a million jobs during the same period.

In Alberta, the largest job losses occurred in accommodation and food services (-27.9 per cent), information, culture and recreation (-25.8 per cent) and wholesale and retail trade (-8.1 per cent).

The province’s March unemployment is 8.7 per cent, up from 7.2 per cent during the previous month.

In the census area covering Fort McMurray and the Wood Buffalo region, unemployment rose to 6.3 per cent from 5.8 per cent.

The biggest job losses came in the sectors accommodation and food services saw the biggest drops, with 300 jobs lost.

The province’s overall unemployment rate went from 7.2 per cent in February to 8.7 per cent in March while the national average went from 5.6 per cent to 7.8 per cent.

-with files from Geoffrey Morgan and Amanda Stephenson

vmcdermott@postmedia.com