Houston-based Marathon Oil Corp. is the latest energy giant to cut jobs amid falling oil prices.
The independent driller said it would cut about 350 to 400 jobs, the Houston Chronicle reports. Most of the cuts are expected to be in the U.S. and “will be weighted to above-the-field and support services personnel,” a spokeswoman told the Chronicle.
In its most recent annual report, Marathon said it had 3,359 active, full-time employees companywide as of Dec. 31, 2013.
On Feb. 18, Marathon said it would further cut its spending another 20 percent after first announcing in December its investment and exploration budget would be about 20 percent lower than equivalent spending in 2014, excluding its recently disposed Norway business. In all, that essentially slashes Marathon’s capital spending from $5.9 billion last year to a projected $3.5 billion in 2015.
Oil prices have plummeted by more than 50 percent since last summer and many energy companies are slashing jobs and their capital budgets. Big energy companies are making cutbacks, while struggling smaller companies are considering bankruptcy options and more.
Most recently, offshore drilling giant Ensco PLC (NYSE: ESV) began cutting hundreds of jobs on Feb. 17 in Houston and beyond amid the ongoing crash in oil prices. Last week, Houston-based Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL) confirmed it would cut 6.5 percent to 8 percent of its global headcount.
By Olivia Pulsinelli
