Updated at 3:22 p.m.
Chesapeake Energy Corporation laid off nearly 15 percent of its total workforce on Tuesday at a time when oil prices remain low.
The Oklahoman newspaper reports that Chesapeake laid off 740 total workers, including 562 in Oklahoma City. Employees will get between 13 and 52 weeks of pay and will continue to receive health insurance and job placement help.
CEO Doug Lawler told The Oklahoman Chesapeake will continue to be "an enduring enterprise."
"We are committed to the community, and we are committed to Oklahoma. But we have to react and respond to be as competitive as possible."
The company laid off nearly 900 employees in 2013.
Original Post:
Chesapeake Energy Corporation launched a round of employee layoffs on Tuesday morning, former employees confirmed to the Journal Record newspaper.
As of noon, the company had not said how many jobs were lost. Workers said off the record that the cuts were deep, leaving just a handful of employees in some departments. Analyst Neal Dingmann said it could be more severe than when the company laid off 800 people in 2013. However, Dingmann also said the company is not facing an immediate bankruptcy threat, because it’s debt to profit ratio is about average.
The company had 5,500 employees at the beginning of the year.
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