Noah Zivitz

Managing Editor, BNN Bloomberg

Archive

Management teams and boards of directors are being tested like never before by the COVID-19 pandemic, and every day brings a long list of updates ranging from forecast suspensions, to job cuts, and more. And we want to make it easier for you to track those disclosures. So every morning, in this space, you can look forward to a quick snapshot of some of the notable updates from Corporate Canada on how they’re managing COVID-19 uncertainty.

-3M incurred Donald Trump’s Twitter wrath, with the president writing last night that the administration “hit 3M hard [yesterday] after seeing what they were doing with their Masks…will have a big price to pay!” No additional clarity as to what Trump was referencing. However, this morning 3M put out a release saying the U.S. administration, among other things, asked it to stop exporting U.S.-made respirators to Canada and Latin America, which the company says would carry “significant humanitarian implications.” 3M also said its staff “have gone above and beyond” to churn out N95s and it’s cracking down on “unethical and illegal” price gouging.

-Canadian Tire says it’s deferring some of this year’s planned capital spending, halting share buybacks, and “leveraging well-established and solid relationships with Canadians banks and our high standing in capital markets” to line up liquidity if necessary. 

-Athabasca Oil is suspending operations at its 9,000 bbl/day Hangingstone SAGD operation “to improve corporate resiliency in the current environment”. It’s also cutting corporate headcount by 15 per cent. 

-Magna International saluted the federal government's efforts to contain the economic fallout from COVID-19 when he spoke with Amanda Lang yesterday afternoon, while cautioning that governments "can't spend money unwisely.” Similar to Finance Minister Bill Morneau on our station earlier this week, he said "there's other things to worry about right now" than budget deficits.

-Lululemon says it’s extending pay protection for its employees until June 1 while its senior management will see their base salaries cut 20 per cent.