Halliburton Closure in El Reno

[Snattlerake]

I worked for an oilfied supply company for over a year transporting and rebuilding downhole pumps. The company was a 34 year old company and my manager had been employed by them over 33 years. This company had just moved into a newly built building as a new national HQ's. His anniversary came around and two vice presidents and the CEO came and took him out for a steak dinner to celebrate.

The next morning a fella from the bank shows up at the store. He has some legal sized papers he shows my manager. My manager calls us all together and said we need to give this guy all of our keys to the place and go home because we are no longer employed. We had 6 million of offshore drill pipe in Louisiana the company was making the interest payments on and the bank foreclosed. All the other banks found out and it created the domino effect.

Exactly a week later I get called back to work because we have pumps we need to rebuild that other companies owned. We also stored pumps for them on our store rack. Their rework rig men would pick them up enroute to the well. I got to stay 2 months and work my job while they picked the store apart. The pipeyard was the first to go.

This was in 84 during the really bad oil recession. Our daily motto was, "Stay alive till 85."

 

[SlugSlinger]

I went from being the analyst for a large subsidiary to an official bean counter for corporate. I saw the writing on the wall when the announcement was made to combine 2 subsidiaries into 1 in Houston. I knew it was coming but hoped the company would find a spot for me. Well they didn't, but they did give me the option and ability to find a spot myself, and luckily I did so without losing a beat. I think the master's degree the company paid for a couple years ago finally came into play and probably saved my job here. The idea behind the master's was to increase my marketplace value and I think it paid off.

To keep a job, one must continue to learn and create value in the position. Once an employee is obsolete or value can be created in a more economic way, a company does not hesitate to capture that other value creator/creation.

I was in the energy sector for a long time and saw lots of layoffs in the flows and ebbs of that business. Never got laid off but a lot did and it hurt to watch them go out the door.
Never felt secure and finally mid life looked into utilities. Probably one of the most stable environments out there with an ever increasing growth. Made the move and never looked back.
My wife made 46 years in the oil patch without a layoff, but she was a bean counter, not a field worker.

 

[Snattlerake]

I remember another production company was going through the same thing in 84. They put all their names in a hat and drew out of it in front of everyone to see which got canned. Funny as hell because it was all of the top management and the sales guy that got the axe.

 

[CHenry]

Funny as hell because it was all of the top management and the sales guy that got the axe.

And thats funny why?

 

[CHenry]

When are you retiring? If you go to a consultant you'll find life is a lot different working in a "for profit" environment.

Lol, I've worked in plenty of for profit gigs. Yes, much different.

 

[Grendelshooter]

And thats funny why?

Really?

 

[John6185]

Co panties seem to always lay off people at Christmas time for some reason, couldn't they pick another time? That's a heck of a Christmas present for a family.

 

[Uncle TK]

Co panties seem to always lay off people at Christmas time for some reason, couldn't they pick another time? That's a heck of a Christmas present for a family.

Lay Off are usually before the end of a quarter for financial reasons

 

[Glock 40]

Lay Off are usually before the end of a quarter for financial reasons

That is it. Biggest expense on a budget is head count. Cut heads and it makes the spreedsheets much happier in quick time. It is a shortsighted fix though that can only be repeated so many times.

 

[John6185]

Lay Off are usually before the end of a quarter for financial reasons

Yes, but why wait unto the last quarter-Christmas? They could have done it earlier, the bean counters know the financial situation much earlier than December. It just doesn't seem right to do this to a family.