Recent layoffs at Northern Transportation Company Ltd. have some fearing a major shutdown of the northern sealift company.

NTCL president Carmen Loberg announced last week that the company is laying off 10 administrative employees and making one full-time position seasonal.

The layoffs leave about five people working at NTCL's head office in Hay River, N.W.T.

"Nobody knew this was coming," NTCL employee Richard Nault told CBC News. "I imagine they were planning it for a while, but they never told anybody."

Eight of the lost jobs are unionized positions in Hay River. Two managers and a pay and benefits co-ordinator are also affected.

River cargo down sharply

The company cited a decline in its Mackenzie River operations for the layoffs, saying river cargo currently accounts for only 16 per cent of the company's revenue, compared to 100 per cent five years ago.

The decline in river cargo has resulted from the popularity of NTCL's new West Coast route, shipping freight from Richmond, B.C., up the British Columbia and Alaska coasts to communities in the Western Arctic.

The West Coast route, which the company describes as more cost-effective way to ship cargo to the N.W.T. and western Nunavut, is meant to complement NTCL's freight service from Hay River.

In a letter to employees, Loberg said NTCL is still committed to maintaining its Hay River operations, including its dockyard and synchro-lift facilities.

Union blames 'layers' of mangement

But Nault, who heads up the union local, also blames the recent layoffs on poor management at the company.

"If you look at our top end, we've got a lot of managers — what, seven vice-presidents? I don't know anybody that's got as many vice-presidents as we do," Nault said.

Teresa Eschuk, regional vice-president with the Union of Canadian Transportation Employees, said NTCL has been heading downhill for a while.

"They've slowly ruined themselves. I believe there's 15 layers of management within that company. If that's not a telling sign that a company's going to come into trouble, I don't know what is," she said.

"There's just too many layers and they have mismanaged that company. It's the workers that are going to suffer."

Eschuk said politicians should step in to save the 75-year-old shipping company, which employs roughly 80 people in Hay River alone.

"People need to be concerned about this. Our politicians need to be concerned about this," she said. "Do we need to look at how do we save this town? How do we look at helping this company?"