Chesapeake Fires Handful of Staff, Stock Price Jumps

Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) today eliminated about 70 jobs at its operations in North Texas around the Barnett shale play. That’s about 8% of the company’s workforce in the area and around 0.5% of its total number of employees.

By the end of this week the company is also slated to announce the name of its new non-executive board chairman. Depending on that person’s relationship (or lack of relationship) to embattled former chairman and still CEO Aubrey McClendon, the stock could get another boost.

The company also put up for sale its Fort Worth office building. Chesapeake bought the building in 2008 for $100 million. The company has been selling assets at a rapid clip this year in an effort to raise $11.5 billion in cash to help meet a projected revenue shortfall of $4-$5 billion.

Chesapeake’s shares are up nearly 6% at $18.69 in a 52-week range of $13.32-$35.75.

Paul Ausick