Houston-Based Energy Giant to Reduce Global Workforce by 25 Percent, Delist from Stock Exchange

HOUSTON — Weatherford International, a Houston-based oilfield services firm, will cut its global workforce by 25 percent as part of a larger move to reduce capital expenditures by 50 percent in 2020 relative to 2019, the company announced on Wednesday. The company also plans to reduce its geographic footprint and reduce the headcount of its operations in North America by 38 percent. As of 2016, Weatherford, which also plans to delist itself from the New York Stock Exchange, had about 30,000 employees worldwide. Despite recent agreements by major-producing nations to undertake supply cuts, the impact of COVID-19 has drastically reduced energy demand. The price of West Texas Intermediate crude opened at $20.39 per barrel on Thursday, down from about $64 per barrel a year ago, an approximately 68 percent decrease.