Most of Houston's 10 largest energy employers cut headcounts in 2020

The Covid-19 pandemic was a brutal hurdle for many companies in the energy business, but it was especially tough for many of the employees who worked at those companies.

Plunging demand for oil and gas meant less spending by upstream producers. That created less work and fewer opportunities for companies up and down the oil and gas value chain. Many in the sector had to reduce headcount by selling business lines, leaving empty positions unfilled or conducting outright layoffs.

In many cases, oil field service and equipment companies were hit the hardest. Upstream producers would usually much rather cut spending — and therefore work for OFSE companies — than cut their own workforce, said Paul Goydan, Houston-based managing director and senior partner at Boston Consulting Group, in an interview back in June.

“It’s much easier to cut a supplier than it is to dig into your own workforce,” Goydan said at the time. “A lot of these companies have thousands and thousands of person-years of engineering and geological expertise. It is very hard to get back if you let go of it.”

Here’s a summary of how global headcount has changed over the course of 2020 at Houston’s 10 largest energy employers. Companies are ranked by local full-time employees as of mid-2020. The companywide workforce numbers come from each company’s annual financial reports, and they generally reflect the headcount as of Dec. 31 in 2019 and in 2020.

1. Exxon Mobil Corp.

2020: 72,000
2019: 74,900
Change: Declined by 2,900, or 3.9%

2. Schlumberger NV

2020: 86,000
2019: 105,000
Change: Declined by 19,000, or 18.1%

3. Royal Dutch Shell PLC

2020: Annual report not yet published
2019: 83,000
Change: N/A

4. Wood

2020: Annual report not yet published
2019: 55,000
Change: N/A

5. NOV Inc. — formerly National Oilwell Varco Inc.

2020: 27,631
2019: 35,479
Change: Declined by 7,848, or 22.1%

6. Occidental Petroleum Corp.

2020: 11,800
2019: 14,400
Change: Declined by 2,600, or 18.1%

7. Chevron Corp.

2020: 47,736
2019: 48,200
Change: Declined by 464, or 1%

8. LyondellBasell Industries NV

2020: 19,200
2019: 19,100
Change: Increased by 100, or 0.5%

9. BP PLC

2020: Annual report not yet published
2019: 70,100
Change: BP CEO Bernard Loony has indicated that the company cut about 10,000 jobs, or 14.2% of its initial headcount.