BJ Services to Fire 273 Workers in Shreveport Next Week

If you though 2020 was done serving up terrible surprises, you would be wrong.  The Arklatex Homepage is reporting that oil and gas company BJ services will be swinging the ax next week in Shreveport.  In total, the company plans to hand out pink slips to 273 workers in Northwest Louisiana on August 2nd.  This layoff is so big, federal law required BJ Services to give workers who are depending on their employment now more than ever prior notice of the firings.

According to the report, this move comes after the company had to declare chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday and is in negotiations to simultaneously sell off some of its assets in regard to their fracturing and cementing divisions.

This latest bombshell is only the most recent in a 5-year string of high profile bankruptcies in the oil & gas industry, including the latest filing by energy giant Chesapeake on June 26th.  All-in-all, more than 200 oil producers have filed for bankruptcy in this time period, and experts fear the Coronavirus pandemic's effect on the demand for petroleum will only make things worse.