The crash in oil prices to seven-year lows is sending shock waves throughout the energy industry — this time, Halliburton is again slashing its workforce.
The Houston-based firm on Thursday told CNNMoney that it was cutting 8% of its workforce, or roughly 5,000 positions, bringing the total job cut tally to between 26,000 and 27,000 workers since headcount peaked in 2014.
“Our industry has turned down faster than anyone ever expected,” Halliburton chief executive Dave Lesar and president Jeff Miller said in a memo to employees obtained by CNNMoney. Over the next year business opportunities will be “much worse than anticipated” they wrote.
The company has been consolidating facilities in 20 countries and closing down operations altogether in another two countries. Halliburton, like its rivals Schlumberger and Baker Hughes, has announced some of the largest job cuts over the past 18 months.
“The dramatic reduction in drilling activity in the United States has cost oil services companies lots of business,” CNNMoney wrote. “The drilling business they do get has been won with steep discounts amid the downturn. For instance, Halliburton said its U.S. customers will spend about 50% less in 2016 than last year.”
Earlier this week, European Union regulators decided to delay the process for their review of Halliburton’s proposed merger with Baker Hughes. The companies had reportedly failed to provided some necessary pieces of information. U.S. regulators are still reviewing the deal.