Halliburton furloughs Houston employees; other energy cos. working from home

Some of the biggest energy companies in Houston are making changes to when and where some employees work amid the coronavirus pandemic and drop in oil prices.

Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL) will furlough about 3,500 Houston employees for 60 days, according to Reuters and other reports. Furloughed employees will alternate working one week and being off the next. They won’t be paid for the time off but will keep their benefits.

The furlough is intended to help the oil field services giant reduce costs as many oil companies cut spending after oil prices plunged down below $30 per barrel on March 9, when the first shots in an oil price fight between Saudi Arabia and Russia put downward pressure on the supply side. At the same time, the coronavirus pandemic has been creating concerns on the demand side of the market, cutting into consumption as consumers taper off air and road travel.

Separately, Kinder Morgan Inc. (NYSE: KMI) ordered employees nationwide to work from home this week in light of the pandemic, the Houston Chronicle reports. The midstream giant won’t reduce operations, but it is restricting employees’ travel and will reevaluate the telecommuting order on a week-by-week basis.

Canada-based midstream giant Enbridge Inc. (NYSE: ENB), which also has a significant presence in Houston, has also ordered employees to work from home, the Chronicle reports. The order affects employees company wide, except for field workers. Large group meetings are canceled, and business travel is limited.

All three companies made the Houston Business Journal’s 2019 Largest Houston-Area Energy Employers List, which published in October. Halliburton was No. 13 with 4,217 local, full-time employees, Kinder Morgan was No. 16 with 2,207, and Enbridge was No. 21 with 1,027

By Olivia Pulsinelli – Assistant Managing Editor

Courtesy of Houston Business Journal

https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2020/03/18/halliburton-furloughs-houston-employees-other.html