Pipeline operator Enbridge said on Wednesday it plans to lay off 5 percent of its workforce.
According to CBC News, the Calgary-based company has cut about 370 positions in Canada and about 160 positions in the United States.
The company has not disclosed further details about the layoff plan.
The cuts account for about 5 percent of the company’s current workforce.
An Enbridge spokesperson told CBC News that the company launched an organizational review in the first quarter that focused on achieving growth and diversification, boosting competitiveness and allowing the company to “capitalize on opportunities now and into the future.”
The spokesperson added that the company will provide support to those workers leaving the company and workers who are remaining with the firm.
The latest round of layoffs follows a similarly sized reduction late last year.
In November, Enbridge reduced its headcount by about 5 percent after it cut 500 employees along with 100 unfilled positions in the United Sates and Canada.
Enbridge told the Financial Post on Wednesday that the most recent job cuts are not related to the company’s pending merger with Spectra Energy.
Enbridge announced last month that it will merge with Spectra Energy in a stock-for-stock transaction worth $28 billion.
Upon completion of the transaction, Enbridge shareholders are expected to own about 57 percent of the combined company.
Spectra Energy shareholders are expected to own about 43 percent of the combined company.
The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2017.
Just days after the merger was announced, Enbridge said it was scrapping plans to build a $2 billion Bakken crude pipeline.
Enbridge told Bloomberg that it withdrew its regulatory application for the Sandpiper Pipeline and added that North Dakota will not need additional pipeline capacity for five more years.
