Irving Oil lays off 60 workers from Saint John refinery, citing collapse in demand

Irving Oil has laid off 60 workers from its Saint John refinery, saying the pandemic has had an "extreme and serious'' impact on its business and industry.

The company says it also reduced its contractor workforce to 225 workers from its average first-quarter workforce of about 1,000 earlier this year.

Irving Oil says the collapse in demand for motor fuels, jet fuel and other refined products continues to create prolonged and significant challenges.

In addition, it says extreme market volatility, serious negative impacts on refining margins and high levels of uncertainty about the depth and duration of the downturn have forced the company to make operational changes.

The company says it's sorry for the impact the changes have had on its team, and it's committed to supporting its employees through the difficult transition.

It says the 60 laid off workers represented about 7% of the Saint John refinery team.

Irving Oil announced the layoffs in a statement on its website Thursday attributed to president Ian Whitcomb and executive vice-president and chief brand officer Sarah Irving.