1,000 employees laid off at Halliburton headquarters

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- After already laying off thousands elsewhere over the last several weeks, as well as issuing furloughs locally, Houston-based Halliburton said it is letting go about 1,000 workers at its corporate headquarters.

On Wednesday, the company confirmed to ABC13 it is issuing the layoffs "because of the unforeseeable, dramatic business downturn caused by the Coronavirus and unprecedented commodity price decline."

"The reductions are in addition to layoffs across the Company's global operations. These actions are difficult but necessary as we adjust our business to customers' decreased activity," the company said in a statement.

Early last month, the company announced layoffs of at least 600 employees across Texas and Oklahoma. In Texas, the state was notified that cuts will affect a total of 275 employees at two locations.

Before that, Halliburton had issued compulsory furloughs to 3,500 employees at its North Belt facility in Houston.

Halliburton is one of many Houston-based companies in the energy sector facing the shifting landscape brought on by the global pandemic. Other companies have similarly let go thousands of workers in response.

The company had been trading at $22 a share as late as mid-February, but has since nosedived to as low as $4.61 a share in the middle of the pandemic.