Trican oilfield service firm cuts 2,000 jobs, suspends dividends

Trican Well Service Ltd. says it has cut 2,000 employees from its North American workforce and will stop paying dividends to its shareholders, citing the difficult current and future market conditions facing its oilfield services business.

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The Calgary-based company also said it's also seeking relaxedterms on debt agreements and in negotiations to sell its Russian and Kazakhstan pressure pumping business, after receiving an unsolicited offer.

The update was included with Trican's first-quarter financial report, issued lateTuesday, which showed the company had a$35.7-million net loss and a $60.3-million adjusted loss in thefirst quarter endedMarch 31.

Total revenue for the three months endedMarch 31was $476.1million, down 26 per cent or $167 million from the first quarter of2014 before the oil and gas industry was hit by a major drop in oilprices that began in November.

Trican said it's aiming to cut $115 million from its fixed annualcosts by cutting its workforce and salaries but the savings weremore than offset in the first quarter by severance expenses.

It made a $22.4-million dividend payment to shareholders duringthe first quarter but Trican says further payouts to investors havebeen suspended indefinitely to preserve its financial resources,given the weak economic outlook.