Schlumberger cutting jobs in Houston, closing 2 facilities

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- After already furloughing employees, modifying work schedules, and voluntarily cutting executive salaries, Schlumberger is cutting jobs in Houston and shutting down two facilities in Texas.

The company said on Thursday its reducing its workforce in the city and will be closing both its Cameron facilities in Kenedy and Corpus Christi, Texas.

"The world is going through an unprecedented global health and economic crisis sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic," said the company in a statement. "The effect of this crisis on the oil and gas industry was amplified by a battle for market share between the world's largest oil producers. This combination has created shocks in both oil supply and demand, resulting in the most challenging environment for the industry in many decades. As a direct result of this environment, much of our operational capacity is unneeded, and some of our facilities are underutilized."

The exact number of jobs that will be cut was not immediately released. Schlumberger said the changes are expected to happen over the next couple of months.

"We understand the impact on our employees and the local community," read the statement. "Our top priority is the safety of our employees, contractors and customers."

This comes one day after Houston-based Halliburton said it is letting go about 1,000 workers at its corporate headquarters.

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

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.

READ MORE: 1,000 employees laid off at Halliburton headquarters