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Imperial to cut jobs by end-2027, relocate most Calgary

roles by

2028

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Layoffs part of restructuring amid global crude price

slump

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Company to maintain only a small presence in Calgary

(Recasts, adds Calgary details in paragraphs 5-6; adds federal

minister comment in paragraphs 7-8)

By Amanda Stephenson, Sheila Dang and Katha Kalia

CALGARY, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Canada's Imperial Oil ( IMO )

said on Monday it would cut its workforce by about 20%

by the end of 2027, part of a major restructuring that would

eventually shutter most of its presence in the oil-and-gas city

of Calgary.

Imperial Oil ( IMO ) is majority owned by top U.S. oil producer

Exxon Mobil ( XOM ), and it had about 5,100 employees as of the

end of 2024, according to a regulatory filing.

The planned layoffs come as global crude prices have slumped

this year due to increased output from the OPEC+ group of oil

producers and trade policy uncertainty. U.S. oil producers and

services firms including ConocoPhillips ( COP ) and SLB

have also announced job cuts.

Imperial said it expected to achieve an annual cost

reduction of C$150 million ($107.81 million) by 2028 as a result

of the restructuring, which it said would also involve

leveraging the company's relationship with Exxon and maximizing

the use of technology.

After the layoffs are complete, the majority of remaining

positions currently at Imperial's Calgary head office will be

relocated in the second half of 2028 to its Strathcona refinery

near Edmonton, Alberta, an Imperial spokesperson said late on

Monday.

The company plans to maintain only a small presence in

Calgary, the spokesperson said, with the restructure designed in

part to consolidate more activities at its operating sites.

Canada's Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson said on

Monday in a statement on X that he was deeply disappointed by

the news.

"We are urgently working to better understand the factors

behind the company's decision and to explore ways to support

affected employees during this difficult time," he said.

Imperial Oil ( IMO ) moved its headquarters to Calgary from Toronto

in 2004. In 2016, it moved its head office out of downtown

Calgary and into a suburban, campus-style office complex

designed to accommodate about 3,000 people.

Imperial owns and operates the Kearl oil sands mine and Cold

Lake oil sands operation in northern Alberta as well as a 25%

stake in the Syncrude Canada oil sands joint venture project.

The company is also Canada's largest petroleum refiner, with two

refineries in Ontario in addition to Strathcona near Edmonton.

The company said it would record a one-time restructuring

charge of about C$330 million before tax in the third quarter of

2025.

Imperial said its 2025 forecasts were unchanged and the

company was well-positioned to meet or beat its medium-term

production targets for the Kearl and Cold Lake oil sands

sites.

($1 = 1.3914 Canadian dollars)