Layoffs hit Abraxas Petroleum in Texas

 

San Antonio-based Abraxas Petroleum Corp. is laying off an unknown number of employees in an effort to reduce spending.

The San Antonio Business Journal reported Abraxas reduced its general and administration expenses by 40% through layoffs, salary reductions and a reduction in board size, it informed investors on Monday. It is not known how many employees the company plans to lay off or whether any of them have received notice.

No notice of layoffs was posted with the Texas Workforce Commission, which is required when a company terminates 50 or more workers. The company had 100 full-time employees as of March 2019 — the last time the company filed an annual report with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Further information about salary reductions and about how many board members are being removed also wasn’t immediately available. A company representative didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Abraxas, San Antonio’s only publicly traded driller, is facing delisting from the Nasdaq Stock Market. After failing to come into compliance with pricing requirements last month, the company was given another six months to get its 30-day stock price to $1 per share. It opened on Monday at 13 cents per share.

Aside from the cuts to general spending, the company said that it also will not drill any new wells while current market conditions exist. The North American oil benchmark fell below $30 per barrel on Monday. Due to the “unprecedented” decline in oil prices that began last week, Abraxas informed the SEC Monday that it would file its 2019 annual report late and notified investors that it was not providing guidance for now.

“While parting with quality employees has been a regrettable task, this, combined with a dramatic reduction in planned capital expenditures I feel is necessary in the current environment,” CEO Bob Watson said in a statement.

Source: San Antonio Business Journal