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.
Source: Company filings
Read the latest issue of the OGV Energy magazine HERE.
Venezuela oil sector hit by loss of its widest US license
bp Begins Oil Production From Major New Platform Offshore Azerbaijan
WTI crude oil forecast: Price action unconvincing despite strong tailwinds, fat tail risks
SLB picks up three contracts from Petrobras