Budget cuts | An incident leads to new job cuts at the STL

The Société de transport de Laval (STL) has just carried out a third wave of layoffs in just one year. She blames in particular the impact of an industrial incident – ​​the contamination of a diesel tank – on her finances.

Published at 2:00 a.m. Updated at 5:00 a.m.

The carrier confirmed to The Press having eliminated “13 positions occupied by employees, affecting all sectors of the organization”, as well as 6 vacant positions. They are in addition to nearly sixty positions eliminated since November 2023.

The STL declined our interview request.

“The STL has chosen to make cuts to positions that least affect the achievement of its mission,” indicated communications advisor Anne-Sophie Harrois by email. “This decision remains a difficult choice that we are obviously making reluctantly in the unstable financial context that public transport companies are experiencing. »

The transport company’s office workers’ union denounced the decision.

“It will have an impact on customers indirectly,” said its president, Sylvain Perron. “The lemon is quite squeezed at the office level. »

Contaminated tank

Mr. Perron denounces in particular the fact that the STL explained that it had to make these layoffs to cover unforeseen operating expenses.

By email, the company confirmed that its decision was notably linked to the discovery of a contamination problem in a diesel tank, which created problems in the engines of its hybrid buses. These problems “resulted in an additional expense of 1 million to the current budget,” said Ms. Harrois. “Unfortunately, these amounts cannot be absorbed by the financial contingency reserve which will not be sufficient given the difficult budgetary situation. » According to our information, it is the presence of rust.

“We are paying these costs directly from office workers,” denounced the union representative. “We found it a bit absurd. We ask ourselves the question [de savoir] if it’s bad management. »

The STL indicated that “the impact of absenteeism among operational staff, high fuel costs, and rising costs of maintenance parts” had also played a role in the financial problems that led to the new updates. on foot.

“On the other hand, the STL is in the process of finalizing its budget for the year 2025, this time with more predictability on the remuneration confirmed by the ARTM which will be granted to the STL,” continued Ms. Harrois, suggesting that the cuts were not over. “Despite the optimizations made this year, the STL had to identify an additional 5 million in recurring savings for the coming year. »