Cenovus says workers not barred or suspended before layoff notices issued

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CALGARY – Officials at Calgary-based Cenovus say their workers were never barred from their workplace, nor were their cellphones suspended, before they were told they were being laid off.

Cenovus (CVE) laid off 540 employees last week.

Spokesman Brett Harris says no one was locked out or barred from the building, or had their access card or cellphone suspended.

An earlier media report quoted unnamed workers saying they were barred from the building and blocked from using company cellphones and computer systems, but that was later acknowledged to be an error.

Harris says some staff did lose partial access to the system before the company had the chance to formally notify them of layoffs.

He apologized for the mistake and says “it’s the last thing we wanted to happen.”

“We’re truly sorry this happened and that it caused additional stress for people on an already stressful day. Our focus right now is on our employees as we complete this very difficult process.”