The IT consulting company CGI has laid off nearly twenty employees based in Quebec as the job market in the technology sector cools.
CGI laid off 19 employees associated with its offices in Quebec at the end of October, according to a notice sent to the Ministry of Employment and Social Solidarity.
The company did not wish to explain the reasons which led it to make this decision. CGI must unveil its quarterly results on Wednesday and it must “respect a period of silence before publishing our financial results,” responds a company spokesperson.
The decision comes at a time when CGI’s recruiting efforts are flagging in Canada.
Compared to last year, CGI job offers fell by 68% in Canada for the months of July, August and September, according to a review by the firm RBC Capital Markets. The number of positions posted is now 52% lower than pre-pandemic levels.
The drop in the number of job offers is observed across the entire group. Analyst Paul Treiber of RBC Markets sees this as a sign of a possible slowdown in the company’s business growth. “This is likely a reflection of lower turnover, but CGI may be taking a more cautious approach to its spending due to economic uncertainty,” he comments.
As recently as July, the head of CGI spoke of “vigorous” demand. “Looking towards the coming quarters, we believe that economic and political uncertainty will push clients to intensify their efforts in order to prioritize the return on investment in their digitalization projects,” commented the president and CEO of CGI, George D. Schindler.
CGI had experienced recruiting challenges during the pandemic when demand for tech workers was at a peak. A year ago, the company’s big boss mentioned that the reduction in its turnover rate had allowed it to reduce the number of job offers.