Canaccord Layoffs: 7% of Canadian workforce trimmed

Canaccord Genuity is reducing its Canadian workforce by 7%, primarily in its capital markets division, due to a prolonged downturn in mergers and financings. This decision amounts to around 75 job cuts at the firm, which has nearly 1,200 employees in Canada.

This workforce reduction follows recent changes in Canaccord’s executive leadership, including the departure of the president of Canadian capital markets, Pat Burke, and the appointment of Stuart Raftus as the CEO of Canaccord Genuity Corp. The company is also trimming its U.S. capital markets staff by 6%.

Canaccord Genuity’s decision to cut jobs is based on a comprehensive evaluation of its operations, said Raftus in an internal memo sent out on Tuesday.

Raftus said that the firm had a “goal of designing an organized structure consistent with the current and forecasted economic environment.”

Investment banks in both Canada and the U.S. are contending with reduced deal activity, impacting revenues generated from underwriting and M&A advisory services. While U.S. equity markets have performed well, much of the returns have been concentrated in a few prominent companies, leaving smaller and mid-sized firms, Canaccord’s specialization, with limited deal opportunities.

Major layoffs continue

The latest round of job cuts at Canaccord Genuity comes amid a flurry of layoffs in 2023.

Major North American companies, including Volvo, Wells Fargo, Roku, RBC, Dell, Telus, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta, are significantly scaling back their staffing levels as they continue to navigate challenging economic conditions.

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Severance agreements for Canaccord Genuity employees

In Canada, non-unionized employees at the financial services company are owed full severance pay when they lose their jobs due to downsizing, corporate restructuring, or the closure of the business.

This includes individuals working full-time, part-time, or hourly in Ontario, Alberta, and B.C.

People working “on contract” or as a contractor may also be owed severance pay — given that many employees in Canada are often misclassified as independent contractors.

Severance can be as much as 24 months’ pay, depending on a number of factors.

LEARN MORE
• Rights to severance for federally regulated employees
• Severance entitlements during mass layoffs
• Severance packages in a recession

WATCH: Employment lawyer Lior Samfiru explains what rights employees have if they are being fired or let go on an episode of the Employment Law Show.

Before you accept any severance offer, have an experienced employment lawyer at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP review it and your employment contract.

We can tell you if what you have been provided is fair and how to get proper severance if it falls short of what you are actually owed.

If you don’t receive the full amount, which happens often, you have been wrongfully dismissed and are entitled to compensation.

In some cases, employers pressure staff into accepting poor severance packages, such as imposing a deadline for accepting the offer.

Non-unionized employees in Canada have up to two years from the date of their dismissal to pursue a claim for full severance pay.