Phillips 66 Announces Workforce Reduction, Some Layoffs In Bartlesville

Phillips 66 has confirmed that the company is reducing its workforce, including some positions in Bartlesville.

The company says there were fewer than 100 employees impacted and most of the layoffs were at their offices in Bartlesville and Houston.

The Bartlesville Chamber of Commerce says, despite the loss of some jobs at Phillips 66, the City is expecting job growth to continue in the area.

One local business owner says he started his business in Bartlesville and he plans to stay and continue to grow.

K. Vasudevan started Service and Manufacturing Company in 1986.  He says he took a chance and bought an old run down school building in Bartlesville in a neighborhood that had been considered unfit for business.

“We hope to have two more corporations,” he said.  “We operate on a solid foundation.  We’re not going anywhere.  We are going to be in Bartlesville.”

The Chamber of Commerce says it had an idea the Phillips layoffs were coming.

“On the plus side, by no means are they going away,” said David Wood from the Bartlesville Development Authority.  “In fact, there are 15 job openings in Bartlesville between Phillips 66 and ConocoPhillips.”

The downtown area is thriving and new luxury apartments are going in just outside of the central business district.  158 of them are at Bison Trails, where their target market is young professionals moving to the area for work.

Just across the street, ABB Oil and Natural Gas recently hired 30 new employees and currently has more than a dozen job openings.

The City is also looking into diversifying the economy outside of the oil and gas sector.

“Plastics, expansion of plastics, and warehouse and distribution, and we are speaking to someone for parts for aviation manufacturing,” said Wood.

Vasudevan says there is another reason he keeps his business in Bartlesville – a knowledge base he calls “phenomenal.”

“Work force, when we bring them and develop them, and treat them right and they stay, they produce a tremendous amount of work, very high quality of work,” he said.

Vasudevan says he just bought 40 acres nearby where he plans to expand and build more than 160,000 square feet and employ up to 400 new employees.