'Difficult decision' due to 'current economic context,' says company
Another firm is set to lay off hundreds of workers, this time the culprit is Montreal-based financial services company Desjardins.
As first reported by Le Journal, the employer will lose 0.6% of its workforce of 58,000, says the CBC.
In a statement given to the news corporation, it made the “difficult decision” to cut the workers because of the “current economic context.”
Desjardins keeping ‘close eye on our costs’
Attrition and taking a more detailed look at open positions were some of the reasons cited for the decision, according to the CBC.
“This sound management leads us to keep a close eye on our costs, whether, for example, to take advantage of natural attrition, to assess the relevance of our vacant positions, or to ensure that our office space corresponds to the reality of hybrid working,” according to another statement sent to BNN Bloomberg.
This is despite rosy news from the second quarter of 2023 and announced in August, in which the company reported a healthy profit of $553 million, up from $515 million for the same period in 2022.
“We remain fully committed to our members and clients by listening to their needs and proposing solutions that suit their financial situations,” says Guy Cormier, president and CEO of Desjardins Group.
Desjardins is still struggling to recoup “massive investments” made over the last few years, including technological, the company said to Investment Executive.
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Most of the cuts will take place in Quebec, in Montreal and Levis, the company told IE.
The news follows a recent announcement from RBC that it will have to cut around 1 or 2% of employees, again despite the financial services giant recorded net income of $3.9 billion for its second quarter, which is better than $295 million from the prior year.
“Despite a complex operating environment, our Q3 results exemplify RBC's ability to consistently deliver solid revenue and volume growth underpinned by prudent risk management,” says Dave McKay, RBC president and CEO.
“We remain focused on executing on our cost reduction strategy while leveraging our strong balance sheet and diversified business model to support our growth and bring long-term value to our clients, communities and shareholders.”