The world’s largest independent exploration and production company will lay off an additional 6 percent of its workforce by the end of the year. Houston-based ConocoPhillips announced that it will lay off another 1,000 employees in the latest round of job cuts.
“We have been transparent with employees that we will have targeted workforce reductions in certain areas of our business to align our organizational capacity with future activity levels,” said David Austin, a ConocoPhillips spokesman based in Bartlesville. “We expect approximately 6 percent of our global workforce to be impacted, with the largest impact occurring in North America.”
The company employs 15,600 people globally, with 7,500 workers based in the United States. The company’s Bartlesville operations employ almost 1,400 workers.
Austin indicated that he is unsure of the impact in Bartlesville but they will know more in the next several weeks as the company works through the formal process.
Phillips 66 was headquartered in Bartlesville before it merged with Conoco and consolidated operations in Houston, Texas.
The company has completed several large projects, leaving a surplus of organizational capacity. North American operations are expected to bear the brunt of this latest effort.
“ConocoPhillips has undertaken a series of cost-reduction measures over the last 18 months in response to the downturn. 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. 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,” said Austin.
Less than a year ago, ConocoPhillips laid off 10 percent of its worldwide workforce, eliminating nearly 1,800 jobs including 170 positions in Bartlesville.