Oilfield services giant Halliburton laid off 233 employees in Kilgore, Texas, last week amid plans to close its facility there and move the operations to Bossier City.
The Houston company notified the Texas Workforce Commission of the layoffs, citing the “continued decline in customer activities,” with U.S. rig counts falling more than 30%. The closure in Kilgore and another near San Antonio were described as an effort to “right-size our organization to current market conditions.”
“In response to reduced customer activity, beginning Wednesday, April 29, we will be relocating our Kilgore operations to our Bossier City field camp facility,” Halliburton spokesperson Emily Mir told the Kilgore News Herald. “This decision takes advantage of Halliburton’s real estate footprint and will increase operational efficiencies across the Haynesville shale and adjacent oil and gas fields.
The closures and layoffs are blamed on the new coronavirus pandemic, which has cut global demand for oil and natural gas, marking a historic industry slump.
Last month, Halliburton announced a net loss of $1 billion, or $1.16 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2020. This compares to net income for the first quarter of 2019 of $152 million, or $0.17 per diluted share.
Halliburton’s total revenue in the first quarter of 2020 was $5.0 billion, a 12% decrease from revenue of $5.7 billion in the first quarter of 2019. Reported operating loss was $571 million in the first quarter of 2020 compared to reported operating income of $365 million in the first quarter of 2019. Excluding impairments and other charges, adjusted operating income was $502 million in the first quarter of 2020, an 18% increase from adjusted operating income of $426 million in the first quarter of 2019.
