Great Slave Helicopters employees in N.W.T. safe from layoffs, company official says

Despite planning to operate "lean and mean," the company's new chief operating officer says Great Slave Helicopters does not plan to lay off workers in the Northwest Territories.

An Ontario Superior Court judge approved the sale of the Yellowknife company to Pat Campling Jr., an aviation executive in La Ronge, Sask., last week. But jobs won'tbe cut as part of the sale and restructuring, Jennifer Burry, the company'snew chief operating officer said in an email to CBC News.

Actually, it will be moving "several senior positions" to the city, she said.

Burry confirmed Great Slave Helicopters is keeping its head office in Yellowknife, as well as its base on Dickens Street., near the airport.

The company is "refocused on its Northern roots and as such the efforts have been centered around the Northern hub of operations," she said.

In a press release sent out Wednesday,Campling Jr., now CEO, said his plan for the time being is to "operate the company lean and mean."

Some jobs lost

Not all Great Slave Helicopters employees will make it through the restructuring period unscathed.

The company recently laid off an unspecified number of workers in Calgary. In some cases, said Burry, people lost their jobs because their positions are moving to Yellowknife.

Prior to Friday's sale, Great Slave Helicopters had been struggling financially.

The company had been losing around $5 million annually, in part due to a decline in oil, gas and mineral activities, according to court documents.

In September, the courts granted the company creditor protection.

CamplingJr. financed the sale of the company through his own money, according to the press release.

Both CamplingJr.and Burry declined interviews with CBC News for this story Thursday, saying they did not have time.