(Montreal) The ax falls a third time this year at Mouvement Desjardins, which laid off around thirty employees from two credit unions, in Quebec and Sherbrooke. The decision comes in a difficult context for the job market in the Canadian banking sector.

The announcement was made to employees in mid-November and will be effective in January. The Caisse Desjardins du Nord de Sherbrooke is losing 15 employees and the Caisse Desjardins du personnel municipal located in Quebec is laying off 12 workers.

Desjardins Group confirmed that these layoffs are in addition to the 400 layoffs announced in mid-October in Montreal and Lévis. “These difficult decisions were taken after reflection by these funds on their internal structure,” replies spokesperson Jean-Benoît Turcotti. The objective is not to eliminate positions, but rather to ensure that the needs of members and clients are met. »

In June, the cooperative also laid off 176 people in Montreal. Several other Canadian financial institutions have also made layoffs in recent months.

In mid-November, President and CEO Guy Cormier explained in an interview that the June and October announcements were attributable to the economic slowdown. “An economic slowdown may have an impact on our costs, our provisions and loan losses. So, of course we look at the whole operation. You have to be really vigilant. We must rigorously manage our costs. »

With attrition, however, Desjardins has a certain “flexibility” to avoid job losses. Between 3,000 to 4,000 of its 55,000 employees leave the company each year to retire or take on new challenges.

The cooperative continues to recruit in certain sectors, added Mr. Cormier. “In security, in artificial intelligence, in technology, our call centers, I am thinking of the growth at the level of our insurance companies, there are places currently where we are stable or increasing. Then, there are other places where we simply readjust. »