Layoffs Underway At Devon Energy Wednesday

Layoffs are underway at Devon Energy Wednesday, and the Devon Energy Center is closed to the public Wednesday and Thursday, according to company sources.

Notifications began Wednesday morning, will be conducted on an individual basis and are expected to be completed by Thursday. All Oklahoma City employees are asked to stay near their primary office location for the next two days, according to sources.

The Well, dry cleaning services and car wash will be closed Wednesday and Thursday, but nebu and Aravalli will be open regular business hours. The Doc will also be open regular business hours all week.

The company released this statement Tuesday:

"Devon has begun its previously announced employee reductions and expects to complete the process at its Oklahoma City headquarters by midday Thursday. At field-level offices, the company expects to complete notifications Feb. 22.

"Devon has taken these and other cost-reduction actions primarily as a result of the current commodity price environment. The company must reduce expenses across the entire organization to maintain its financial flexibility and competitiveness.

"Devon will reduce its headcount by approximately 20 percent in the first quarter, or about 1,000 positions. Approximately 700 employees in Oklahoma City are directly impacted.

"There will be up to an additional 600 employees impacted by the sale of non-core upstream assets. The majority of the divestiture impact will be at the field level. In most cases, we expect these individuals will go to work for the acquiring companies."

Devon Energy announced it was planning layoffs in January during a town hall meeting with its employees.

Meinders School of Business economist Steve Agee told News 9 that the price of oil won't go much lower, but the damage may have already been done.