Chevron Suffers Loss, Plans Job Cuts
Chevron Corp. reported a first-quarter loss as slumping oil prices continued to drag down revenue. The company said that it is "on target" to lay off a total of 8000 workers by the end of 2016, up from a previously stated goal.
Chevron reported a net loss of $725 million, or 39 cents per share, compared with a net profit of $2.57 billion, or $1.37 per share, in the year-ago period.
Revenue tumbled 31% to $23.55 billion. Analysts projected a loss of 20 cents on $21.43 billion in revenue, according to Thomson Reuters.
"First quarter results declined from a year ago," John Watson, Chevron's chairman and CEO, said in a statement. "Our Upstream business was impacted by a more than 35 percent decline in crude oil prices. Our Downstream operations continued to perform well, although overall industry conditions and margins this quarter were weaker than a year ago."
Chevron's $54 billion Gorgon LNG project in Australia shut down earlier this month after mechanical problems, just weeks after it first came online. Gorgon is expected to resume production by June at the latest.
Chevron would cut another 1,000 jobs as it reported a wider-than-expected loss as oil prices continued to languish during the first quarter.
The newly announced layoffs, which will happen later this year, will bring Chevron’s job cuts to 8,000 employees, or 12% of its workforce.
The No. 2 U.S. oil company has already cut more than 4,000 of those permanent jobs and trimmed another 6,500 contractors since the downturn began in the summer of 2014. Chevron executives had previously said the company would cut a total 7,000 jobs.