Oilpatch trucking company lays off 250

A Saskatchewan oil service trucking company has laid off hundreds of workers as oil prices tank during the COVID-19 crisis.

Fast Trucking Service recently laid off 250 of its 350 workers amid an economic slowdown triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic and an oil price war taking place between Saudi Arabia and Russia.

The company fleet includes approximately 75 rig moving trucks. Fast Service Trucks predicts that they’ll only be able to keep a handful of those trucks moving for the rest of the year.

“It was a horrible decision and a really tough one. Oil is going down $59, I said that a month ago, and it’s $11 today. It was road ban time, all the rigs were racked, there was zero income coming in. We’ve been in business 60 years, over 60 years, and we’ve weathered all those ups and downs with oil. But this is way worse than that with this COVID-19,” company president Dennis Day told DiscoverEstevan.

Day said that he believes it could be 18 months or more before things go back to normal.

Fast Trucking Service was founded in Carnduff in 1957 and specializes in moving drilling rigs and frac equipment hauling.