Oil and Gas

Frank’s slashes more Lafayette jobs

by Leslie Turk

Company spokeswoman would not say how many local workers were laid off in what represents at least the fifth round of confirmed cuts since early 2015.

Photo by Leslie Turk

Frank’s International, the oilfield services company founded in Lafayette nearly 80 years ago, today confirmed to ABiz yet another round of layoffs, this one a direct hit to Lafayette. This is at least the fifth round of confirmed cuts for the Houston-based company since March 2015.

The tersely worded layoff announcement sent to ABiz Tuesday noted that the cuts were announced, presumably internally and to those affected, Sept. 30.

“Due to the significant changes in the market — the price of oil, which has plunged more than 70 percent since June 2014, and the decline in drilling activity — Frank’s International announced [Sept. 30] workforce reductions impacting employees in the Lafayette area,” reads the statement, which was emailed to ABiz by Caroline G. Mansur, senior manager for communications and external affairs. “The Company is aligning its global workforce and production levels with market demand to ensure that Frank’s remains strong and is positioned well for the future. Frank’s continues to monitor market conditions, and is committed to safely providing its customers with the equipment and services required to allow them to access their most challenging oil and gas reserves.”

Frank’s is among the largest global providers of highly engineered tubular services to the oil and gas industry, offering its services to exploration and production companies working offshore and onshore. The company’s niche is complex and technically demanding wells.

Mansur declined to say how many area employees were impacted.

The Louisiana Workforce Commission has confirmed to ABiz that Frank's did not file a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, which would provide some insight into the extent of the cuts.

Companies are required to file WARNs under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act if there is a full plant closure resulting in 50 or more employees losing their jobs in any 30-day period or if there is a mass layoff during any 30-day period. A round of cuts is considered a mass layoff if it affects more than 500 employees or between 50 and 499 employees and comprises 33 percent or more of the active workforce at a particular site.