WASHINGTON, January 16 (Sputnik) — Budget cuts and a reduction in production in response to a more than 50 percent collapse in oil prices have forced American energy giant Apache to lay off 5 percent of its workforce this week, Apache told Sputnik on Thursday.
“It’s a step we took after pursuing other measures including a slowdown in activity and reduction in budgets given the current price environment,” Apache’s director of public affairs Castlen Kennedy said.
Apache said the layoffs would not result in a change in production levels, but that they come following a reduction in budget and drilling activities which directly impact production.
A preliminary 2015 plan released in November showed a reduction in the company’s North American budget of nearly 30 percent and a reduction in rig count, the company said.
Apache is 179 on the Fortune 500, a list that ranks the top publically held US corporations. The company’s stock has fallen from around $101 per share in September to $60 on January 15. The company operates in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Egypt and Australia.
