ConocoPhillips to Lay Off Another 1,000 Energy Workers -- Update
July 21 2016 - 07:40PM
Dow Jones News
By Lynn Cook
ConocoPhillips, one of the largest U.S. shale producers, is
cutting another 6% of its workforce.
The Houston-based company confirmed Thursday that it will lay
off about 1,000 employees this year, mostly from North American
energy jobs in the U.S. and Canada. The cuts were outlined in a
meeting with management Thursday.
Hundreds of employees will be laid off in Texas, where much of
ConocoPhillips's shale oil-and-gas operations are focused, while as
many as 300 job cuts will come in Calgary, Alberta, out of its
oil-sands division, sources familiar with the matter said.
The company has already cut 3,400 jobs, or roughly 18% of
employees, since September 2014, when the price of oil fell below
$100 a barrel, according to filings with regulators. In the past 18
months, ConocoPhillips has slashed spending in response to the
downturn, including deferring certain oil-and-gas drilling projects
and laying off thousands of workers since the summer of 2015.
"We have taken several steps as a company to adapt to lower and
more volatile prices and strengthen our position coming out of the
downturn," said Daren Beaudo, a spokesman for the company. "Over
the past couple years, we've significantly reduced our capital
activities and finished some major projects, which left us with
more organizational capacity than we need."
Also this week, Royal Dutch Shell PLC laid off 190 offshore
workers from its deep water Gulf of Mexico operations, or roughly
25% of that division. The cuts were part of Shell's previously
announced plan to trim 2,200 positions globally this year, said
Kimberly Windon, a company spokeswoman.
"We are making these changes in order to remain competitive and
better position Shell's Gulf of Mexico projects for future growth,"
she said.
Write to Lynn Cook at lynn.cook@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 21, 2016 19:25 ET (23:25 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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