Nexen lays off 120 employees in Canada as latest company to cut costs

CALGARY – Nexen, the Calgary-based company acquired by China’s CNOOC Ltd. more than three years ago, says it’s cut 120 jobs in Canada.

Company spokeswoman Brittney Price said the company made the difficult decision to reduce its workforce because of the current economic situation.

Last March, Nexen cut 340 staff in North America and 60 at its U.K. North Sea operations after it made cuts to its spending program.

A number of oil-and-gas producers have announced layoffs recently as low oil prices have led to slashed spending plans for the year.

In February, producers including Husky Energy, Chevron, Statoil, Cenovus Energy, Encana and Devon Energy, as well as Trican Well Services, all announced further job cuts.

The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers estimates that the industry cut 40,000 direct jobs last year.