Dom DiFurio, Dallas Morning News – Pioneer Natural Resources laid off 230 employees Tuesday as the Irving-based driller works to cut $100 million from its overhead.
The layoffs at its corporate offices in Las Colinas and the Permian Basin are in addition to 300 people who took an earlier buyout described as “generous.”
An internal email posted to TheLayoff.com, a website that tracks company layoffs, said 160 corporate employees and 70 in the Permian were notified Tuesday morning. Police were present at the company’s corporate offices to escort affected employees off the campus.
The company acknowledged the layoffs in a statement to The Dallas Morning News. Employees were told their jobs were being eliminated in a series of meetings and communications that started at 9 a.m.
“Decisions like these are never easy. In this case, they were necessary to both align our cost structure with our business strategy and to create value for our shareholders over the long term,” the company said.
Pioneer said the job reductions represent 25% of its workforce. At the end of 2018, Pioneer said in a regulatory filing that it had 3,177 employees, including 1,006 in field and plant operations and 618 in related jobs.
In addition to severance, the company told employees it would provide job search services to those affected.
Pioneer had previously prided itself in being able to ride out swings in the often-volatile oil business without ever having a layoff. Tuesday’s move was described by Pioneer as an effort to cut costs and “remain competitive” with its peers.
The company’s revenue topped $9.4 billion in 2018, an increase of almost 73% over the previous year. Average daily production of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids grew more than 17%. Pioneer even quadrupled its dividend. However, investors have been pressing oil and gas companies to reduce costs and return more profit to shareholders.
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