Alyeska to cut workers, spending

by The Associated Press

Alyeska Pipeline Service Co., operator of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline, is laying off an unknown number of its 1,025 workers as it reorganizes amid flat North Slope oil production.

The oil consortium also said it plans to cut spending by about $10 million, for a budget of about $520 million this year.

Alyeska has been looking at ways to be more efficient and found it can reduce its work force while still safely running the 800-mile pipeline and Valdez tanker port, said Dan Hisey, Alyeska’s chief operating officer.

During the next three to four months, Alyeska will decide how many jobs it will cut. The layoffs could hit managers and supervisors, engineers and business analysts, office workers and administrators, he said. Maintenance and other front line workers won’t be affected.

Anchorage-based Alyeska, a consortium owned by six major oil companies, has about 240 staff and contract workers in Anchorage, with the rest mainly in Fairbanks, Valdez and along the pipeline.