Whiting Petroleum lays off 16% of staff amid bankruptcy exit

DENVER — Whiting Petroleum Inc. (NYSE: WLL) wil cut an additional 16% of its staff after emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. In a statement Wednesday, the Denver company said 90% of those job losses would be from corporate positions. The remaining employees are also subject to salary reductions, including executives, who are taking cuts of 15% to 20% of their base compensations. It’s unclear how many of those employees are based in Northern Colorado. A Whiting spokesperson did not return a request for comment Wednesday evening. Whiting produced 3.4 million barrels of oil and 10.2 million metric cubic feet of natural gas in 2019, according to Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission records. Its Colorado operations were solely within Weld County. Whiting exited bankruptcy proceedings this month with approximately $3 billion in long-term debt forgiven or converted into equity. It was the first large-scale operator in Weld County to file for bankruptcy as the pandemic deeply slashed demand for fuel around the world. The company cut 254 jobs in late July last year, amounting to 33% of its workforce at the time. © 2020 BizWest Media LLC
Source: BizWest