Conoco: Alaska cuts likely small

ConocoPhillips is looking at a 6 percent global workforce cut, but doesn’t expect a large reduction in Alaska.

An email statement provided to Petroleum News July 25 by ConocoPhillips Alaska spokeswoman Natalie Lowman says “the extended downturn in oil price” means the company is “operating in a very cost-challenged environment” and is continuing “to work to align the company’s workforce needs with expected future activity levels, given the difficult environment our industry faces.”

ConocoPhillips Alaska President Joe Marushack told the Resource Development Council in November that the company had reduced its Alaska workforce by some 120 people.

Lowman said the company’s current Alaska employee headcount is 1,070.

The company said the approximately 6 percent reduction in its global workforce will impact some areas more than others, with the largest impact in North America.

“Alaska will be impacted by layoffs, and although we cannot yet provide specifics, we are not anticipating a significant reduction in the Alaska workforce,” Lowman said in her email.

- KRISTEN NELSON