Drill-Quip Respond to Illicit video

Dril-Quip President and CEO, Blake DeBerry has released the following statement relating to the management video released earlier this week.

As many of you already know, a video of private management team conversations held on March 24th was illicitly obtained, shared on social media channels and covered by industry media outlets. This is the same video that I addressed during the Q&A session at our recent Townhall meeting. I write to you now to reiterate my commitment to the health and safety of all our employees and set the record straight

Unfortunately, reports from certain news outlets inferred that the conversation captured in the video was in response to an Aberdeen employee testing positive for COVID-19. To be clear, any such inference is patently false, as demonstrated simply by the dates of each event: the management conversation was held on March 24th in preparation for the March 25th townhall, and the illness of our Aberdeen colleague was reported to us eight days later on the morning of April 2nd.

We have been and will continue to be focused on the health and safety of our employees as our number one priority, and I believe our response to the COVID-19 incident in Aberdeen reflected our values and our commitment in that regard. Immediately following the confirmation that our employee had tested positive for the virus, all personnel who had been working in shared workspaces with the affected Aberdeen employee (including contract employees) were sent home on full pay and a specialized cleaning of the premises took place. Fortunately, our employee is recovering well at home and no additional cases have been reported.

To date, we have and will continue to follow all local government COVID-19 guidelines as they apply to manufacturing industries. Accordingly, it remains the case that those who absolutely cannot work from home may continue to work at our facilities. We have taken steps to protect our employees that remain at our plant and in the after-market area by creating maximum social separation.

This involves:
1) staggered lunch/tea breaks for each shift;
2) no shift handoff or employee interaction between shifts; and
3) mandatory cleaning of workstations 30 minutes prior to the end of each shift

The above proactive steps were taken to reduce individual and collective risk. We believe this plan protects our employees, while continuing to service our customers at this critical time. In addition, as previously advised, we have vested all employees PTO (annual leave, vacation, etc.) for the full year. Therefore, if you believe that coming into the facilities presents too much risk, you may elect to utilize this PTO or take unpaid leave. If you have any questions or concerns about the guidelines, I encourage you to speak with your supervisors.

Regarding the headcount discussion contained in the video, I want to reiterate what I communicated to you during our recent Townhall. First and foremost, we always review our headcount in line with the market for our products. Second, given current market conditions, we must prepare for all scenarios, including discussing the best way to respond to the inevitable and understandable question regarding potential layoffs if economic challenges facing the industry continue. It is a question that, understandably, is on the minds of everyone at our company and virtually every company in our industry around the world. And that’s when and why the comment of “lowest common denominator” was made, which was referring to the concept of not preparing the Townhall for any specific subset but rather to the Company as a whole. All of you, regardless of where you work around the globe, understand the current economic conditions and share the same concerns.

As you know, and as I stated in the Townhall, 2020 is going to be a challenging year. These are uncertain times. Any suggestion that we have plans to close the facilities in Dyce is entirely false. On the contrary, please know that our objective is to sustain the long-term viability of the Dyce facilities and keep as many employees as possible working through the current crisis and beyond. While I cannot make any guarantees on restructuring or headcount reductions, I know that maintaining our focus on safe operations and serving our customers is the best way to help ensure the welfare of each and every one of you.

Sincerely,

Blake DeBerry
President & CEO