Local Oil and Gas Company Lays off Some Shreveport Workers

A corporation that provides services for the oil and gas industry is laying off 28 employees at its Shreveport facility.

Baker Hughes notified the state of the layoffs in a letter late last week. A copy was released Monday by Louisiana's labor department. The company said the layoffs are the result of cutbacks in exploration, drilling and production caused by the declining price of oil.

Angie McPherson, a human resources director with Baker Hughes, said in the letter that the layoff, effective last Thursday, was expected to be permanent. Employees were getting paid for 60 days, with benefits lasting another three months.

The job cuts are expected to be permanent.

In April, Baker Hughes announced plans to increase its global job cuts to 10,500 after reporting a $32 million loss for the first quarter this year. Oil prices fell below $40 per barrel to hit a new six-year low last week, before bouncing back Monday to $52.95 per barrel.

Baker Hughes employs some 53,000 people in more than 80 countries worldwide.