“Dire Straits”: Wesgroup’s Layoffs Signal a Looming Construction Crash Across B.C.

With 140 staff cut this month, Metro Vancouver’s largest private developer confirms what industry insiders have whispered for months: the residential-building pipeline is drying up, and thousands of trades jobs could vanish as early as 2026.

Breaking: Wesgroup Confirms Deep Cuts

Wesgroup Properties, builder of River District and Brewery District megaprojects, issued pink slips to ~140 employees on Tuesday, trimming almost one-third of its salaried workforce. Sources inside the company say most departures hit pre-construction, marketing, and project-management teams—clear indicators that future launches are frozen.

CEO Beau Jarvis framed the move as “right-sizing in response to unprecedented market headwinds.” Translation: the condos they expected to presell in 2024 and 2025 never moved, and lenders won’t fund towers without 60 % deposits locked.

The Immediate Numbers

Labour economists warn these corporate cuts foreshadow field-level pain once the last cranes come down.

Why the Pipeline Stalled

1. Presales Frozen – City-core concrete condos need $1,200 +/sq ft to pencil; buyers balk at 6 % mortgages.

2. Cost Inflation – Structural steel up 22 %, mechanical trades billing +18 % since 2022.

3. Financing Terms – Banks now demand 50–55 % borrower equity vs. 25–30 % in 2021.

4. Policy Overhang – Foreign-buyer ban, anti-flipping tax, and CMHC insurance caps remove traditional investor base.

Result: developers shelve blueprints, architects sit idle, and general contractors start bidding war on the dwindling jobs that remain.

Trade Unions Sound the Alarm

Build Together BC estimates 9,000–12,000 construction positions province-wide could evaporate by late 2026 if no fresh multi-family starts break ground.

“We’re facing the classic cliff,” says Lianna Bello, business manager for Ironworkers Local 97. “Projects that began during the pandemic boom are topping out now. Nothing equivalent is in the queue.”

Electrical and glazing subcontractors already report crews spending two days a week “on the bench.”

Regional Hotspots Most at Risk

Rural B.C. faces an additional blow: major builders are cancelling speculative townhouse phases in Langford, Chilliwack, and Kamloops.

Government Response? Mostly Silence

• Victoria sticks to its “Homes for People” supply targets but admits private-sector starts are imploding.
• Ottawa focuses on rental-construction financing rebates—great for six-storey wood-frame; irrelevant for 40-storey concrete.
• Municipalities continue hiking DCC fees, citing infrastructure gaps, even as developers plead for relief.

Industry advocates warn that without fee deferrals, GST holidays, and lower CMHC premiums, capital will stay parked.

What Happens Next for Homebuyers?

Short term: more incentives—20 % deposits cut to 10 %, free upgrades, and rate-buy-downs.
Medium term: fewer completions starting 2027 could tighten supply again, pushing prices upward just as rates fall.
Long term: volatility becomes the norm—boom-and-bust cycles widen unless financing and zoning frameworks stabilize.

Can the Downturn Be Softened?

• Accelerate Public Build Programs – Turn BC Housing land into shovel-ready union projects within 12 months.

• Bridge Financing Pool – Province-backed mezzanine loans for stalled private rental towers.

• Permit-Expedite Task Forces – Slash 24-month rezoning timelines to 8 months max.

Absent such interventions, Wesgroup’s layoffs may be only the opening act.

Voices from the Site

Carlos R., formwork carpenter: “River District kept 300 of us busy for a decade. Now the foreman says, ‘Maybe four months left, then who knows.’ My crew’s taking oil-patch calls already.”

Emily Cho, 2nd-year architectural technologist: “Our firm lost three proposals last quarter. If no new condos, my job’s toast by Christmas.”

Bottom Line

Wesgroup’s staff cull is the clearest proof yet that B.C.’s multi-family construction engine is sputtering. Without a fresh influx of capital, approvals, and, yes, buyers, the skyline’s forest of cranes could thin to a handful by 2027—taking thousands of paycheques with it.

Policymakers still have a narrow window to cushion the fall. The question is whether they act before the layoffs spread from boardrooms to every rebar rig, drywall crew, and glazing swing-stage in the province.

Reporting based on WorkSafeBC permit data, BuildForce labour forecasts, and confidential interviews with Wesgroup staff and subcontractors.