Halliburton lays off Williston workers; how many not known

WILLISTON, N.D. (AP) — Houston-based oil field services company Halliburton has laid off some of its workers in the western North Dakota oil patch hub of Williston, though the company isn’t providing details.

Halliburton in April suspended operations at its facility in Minot and transferred many of the jobs there to locations in Williston and Dickinson, citing “changing business needs from its customers.” The company two months earlier had said it planned to cut up to 6,400 jobs worldwide in response to falling oil prices.

Halliburton now is making “adjustments to its workforce in Williston based on current business conditions,” spokeswoman told the Williston Herald ( ).

The number of oil drilling rigs in North Dakota dropped this summer to its lowest level in six years, according to data from the state . Each active oil rig represents about 40 direct jobs and 80 indirect jobs, according to state officials.

“Halliburton will continue to monitor the business environment and will adjust the size of our workforce to align with current business demands as needed,” Mir said. “Details of specific businesses and the number of employees is competitive information, and therefore unavailable.”

Halliburton is one of the world’s largest oil and gas field service providers. It’s in the midst of trying to acquire rival Baker Hughes for $34.6 billion. Both companies say the proposed merger has not been the reason for recent job cuts.

___