Halliburton to cut 5000 more jobs

The oil industry has cut more than 250,000 jobs globally, with the largest chunk coming from service providers, to keep up with tumbling oil prices, which are down about 70 percent over the past year and a half due to an oversupply of crude.

Halliburton Co., in survival mode as oilfields are shunned worldwide, is sending another 5,000 people home, slashing its workforce by another 8%, the company confirmed on Thursday.

The price of the black stuff has plummeted since June 2014, and although it has shown some signs of rallying, has struggled to rise far above $40 a barrel.

There were 514 oil drilling rigs in the US last week, down from 1,310 a year ago, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes.

Mir said the company regretted the decision, “but unfortunately we are faced with the hard reality that reductions are necessary to work through this challenging market environment”. “Ultimately, when this market recovers we believe North America will respond the quickest and offer the greatest upside, and that Halliburton will be positioned to outperform”, Dave Lesar, Halliburton chairman and CEO said last month in the company’s Q4 report. The slide has forced energy companies to cut back on exploration, hammering the business of services contractors.

Smaller oil services companies too are experiencing financial distress.

Halliburton shares rose 4 cents to close at $32.50 on Thursday.