Halliburton confirmed Wednesday that they would be cutting 650 jobs across Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico and North Dakota amid slowing oil and gas activity. Of these cuts, 178 were in Mesa County in western Colorado, according to a filing with the state’s Department of Labor and Employment.
“The layoff is expected to be a permanent employment loss. At this time it is expected that the facility will remain open,” Justin Slaugh, the company’s district manager for the Rock Springs District, wrote the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.
Spokeswoman Emily Mir confirmed to Reuters via email “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”
Reportedly, several of the affected employees were given the option to relocate to jobs in other locales where more business is anticipated, she said.
The 650 job cuts are in addition to an 8% North American workforce reduction that Halliburton announced earlier in 2019.
Behind Schlumberger and GE’s Baker Hughes, Halliburton was the third largest oilfield services firm by revenue last quarter as well as being the largest provider of hydraulic fracking fleets.
Energy consultancy Primary Vision said in a note on Wednesday that the number of active U.S. hydraulic fracturing fleets has tumbled to 365 – a low dating back to spring of 2017. It further estimates as many as 60 more fleets could be idled before the end of the year.
