Business/Economy

ConocoPhillips to lay off more workers, doesn't expect 'significant reduction' in Alaska

More job cuts are on the horizon for ConocoPhillips.

The Houston-based energy company plans to lay off about 1,000 people this year, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. That's about 6 percent of its workforce companywide. The largest impact will be in North America.

ConocoPhillips Alaska spokeswoman Natalie Lowman said she could not say how many jobs in Alaska that might affect.

"Alaska will be impacted by layoffs, and though we can't provide specifics yet, we are not anticipating a significant reduction in the Alaska workforce," she said in an email.

This is the most recent news of cutbacks in a sector grappling with oil prices that have dropped precipitously since 2014. In Alaska, BP is reducing drilling activity this year, Parker Drilling and CH2M Hill have announced layoffs and exploration has pulled out of the Chukchi Sea.

Oil prices were around $45 per barrel on Friday. In 2014, the price topped $100 per barrel.

ConocoPhillips' current headcount in Alaska is 1,070, Lowman said. In September, Alaska Dispatch News reported ConocoPhillips employed 1,200 people in Alaska. Also at that time, the company said it was preparing to cut up to 10 percent of its state workforce.

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Worldwide, ConocoPhillips employs 15,600 people, according to its website.

"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," said Houston spokesman Daren Beaudo in an email. "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."

In addition to ConocoPhillips, oil-field services company Schlumberger has already cut about 16,000 jobs worldwide in the first and second quarters of this year, said spokeswoman Susan Ganz. She couldn't say how that impacted Alaska.

Annie Zak

Annie Zak was a business reporter for the ADN between 2015 and 2019.

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