DUNCAN – In a recent announcement, the oil industry giant Halliburton stated that it would lay off about 800 employees in Oklahoma. This announcement sent state officials scrambling to help those affected by the job loss this week.
The layoffs are the second round for the oil field service company. In October, Halliburton reduced its North American workforce by 8%, eliminating 650 jobs in Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, and North Dakota. Halliburton, which celebrated its 100th anniversary this year, employs more than 60,000 personnel in 40 countries. Halliburton posted a profit of $1.66 billion during 2018 with $24 billion as revenue. Haliburton is the second-largest oil field service company in the world. The company has dual headquarters in Houston and Dubai. About a week ago, Halliburton shuttered its El Reno facility and followed that closing with layoffs in Duncan. In a story published on the website, Rigzone.com, a company spokesman said the layoffs were necessary.
“We’re making adjustments to [the] workforce in Duncan due to local market conditions,” Halliburton spokesperson Emily Mir said in an email sent to Rigzone. “We value every employee, but unfortunately, we are faced with the difficult reality that reductions are necessary as we work to align our operations to reduced customer activity.” Ms. Mir said the decision was sparked by reduced oilfield activity levels in Oklahoma and the greater Mid-Continent area. She said consolidation operations took advantage of Halliburton’s “extensive footprint and synergies in the Duncan area.”
“Making this decision was not easy, nor taken lightly, but unfortunately, it was necessary as we work to align our operations to reduced customer activity,” she said. Ms. Mir said most of the affected employees were given the option to relocate to jobs in other locales where more business is anticipated. State officials are moving quickly to address the layoffs. In a message posted on the Canadian Valley CareerTech website, school superintendent Dr. Gayla Lutts said the school would provide educational opportunities to constituents and industry partners.
“When large corporations or industries close, there is a coordinated effort between agencies to support all those impacted,” Ms. Lutts said. “CV Tech will be actively involved with the response.” The objective of Rapid Response is to help workers transition from notification of a layoff to re-employment as quickly as possible, she said. She said Rapid Response Events exclusively for individuals impacted by the Halliburton layoffs were held at Canadian Valley Technology Center’s El Reno Campus last Thursday.
Halliburton’s action follows a major slump in the oil market. Currently the price of crude oil is roughly around $50 per barrel. In addition, some experts say a softening in the shale sector and a decreased demand for drilling and completion activity across the United States and Canada has also led to job cuts. On Nov. 11, Halliburton announced that its board of directors declared a 2019 fourth-quarter dividend of 18 cents per a share on the company’s common stock payable Dec. 26, 2019, to shareholders of record at the close of business on Dec. 5, 2019. Haliburton’s fourth-quarter dividend in 2018 was also 18 cents per share.