This is how a section of comments about Halliburton Co.’s (NYSE: HAL) earnings read:
Responding to the reality of the market, we force-fit our employee headcount to available activity levels. This provides sustainable structural savings without compromising our ability to add personnel to serve the market when it recovers. This included consolidating management roles across countries and centralizing support functions. This resulted in a workforce reduction of more than 6,000 during the first quarter. Since the downturn began in late 2014, we have reduced our global headcount by approximately one-third.
The company has been gutted by a drop in oil prices, which means the news was not unexpected. However, it is a sign that thousands upon thousands of jobs in the oil services industry are at risk.
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Halliburton also pointed out that it would delay it earnings because of the complexity of its merger with Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI). It is part of a consolidation that has to occur as the industry continues to shrink. The earnings release has been moved from April 25 to May 3.
Just how badly is the industry suffering? Halliburton’s discussion of the past quarter makes that plain:
Total company revenue of $4.2 billion for the first quarter of 2016 represents a 17% decline sequentially, compared to a 21% decline in the worldwide rig count. Disruptive market conditions persisted in the first quarter, as U.S. rig counts reached a record low and the worldwide rig count is at the lowest level since 1999.
The downsizing is not over.
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