Fewer layoffs expected in Calgary during current oil downtown
Posted Jan 9, 2015 9:26 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
As the economy cools due to the big drop in oil prices, one prominent business person says it’s not likely Calgarians will be facing mass lay-offs similar to those seen during the last oil price plunge.
Bruce Graham is the president of Calgary Economic Development.
He says concerns have certainly been raised over the recent plunge in oil, with speculation the dip could last anywhere from 6 to 18 months.
However, he believes companies learned a valuable lesson during the last oil drop off when prices fell in 2008/2009.
“Prices went down to the mid-thirties (dollar per barrel), but rebounded quite quickly and quite frankly we were in very short order in need of additional people and experiencing a very tight labour market situation,” said Graham.
He also points out that Calgary’s economy has diversified in the past decade meaning it’s better suited to handle energy price drops.
