Crescent Point Energy making an announcement Wednesday which is shaking up the oil industry in southeast Saskatchewan. The company announced they are reducing their workforce as part of their transition plan as part of the announcement of Craig Bryksa as the president and CEO of the company. They are also aiming to reduce their debt by $1 billion by the end of 2019, and pursuing asset divestitures.

In a release issued Wednesday, the company announced they were focusing their attention on the Viewfield, Flat Lake and Shaunavon resource plays. They are also looking to further develop the Uinta Basin and East Shale Duvernay.

The sale of some infrastructure assets is being evaluated by Crescent Point, with the belief that a sale could help with debt reduction, and create potential strategic partnerships.

The reduction of the workforce was a key part of the announcement, citing it would save the company $50 million a year. This would be through an immediate reduction of 17 percent of the workforce.

“I want to thank all of our staff for their hard work and contributions over the years,” said Bryksa in the release. “This restructuring is difficult, however, we needed to adjust the organization to match our current business needs.”

There is no word if the layoffs will have any impact on operations Crescent Point has in Estevan.

Bryksa is also taking on the role of president and CEO full time. He was named the interim CEO and president after Scott Saxberg stepped down earlier this year. As part of the announcement, Robert Heinemann was named as the new chairman of the board, taking over for Peter Bannister.

Goldenwest has reached out to Crescent Point Energy to discuss how this announcement could impact Estevan and southeast Saskatchewan, but they declined to comment.