Chesapeake CEO: Layoffs Should Be Completed By November

Marie Cusick

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Marie Cusick was the Harrisburg reporter for StateImpact Pennsylvania.

September 17, 2013 | 4:38 PM

Reuters/Steve Sisney/Landov

Chesapeake Energy Corporation's 50 acre campus in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

With a new CEO at the helm, Pennsylvania’s biggest natural gas driller may continue to make staffing changes through early November, according to a report today in The Oklahoman.
Although Chesapeake Energy has declined to comment on the layoffs, the Oklahoma City-based company has reportedly been letting go of employees throughout the country, including its community and landowner relations staff in Bradford County.
The Oklahoman reports on an email sent to employees today from Chesapeake’s new CEO Doug Lawler:

“Future staffing adjustments will likely be necessary to properly align resources and improve our overall operating and competitive performance,” Lawler said Tuesday in an internal email to Chesapeake employees.

In the internal email, Lawler said the company is working to continue its focus on financial discipline and that a “comprehensive review of all areas of our business is underway.”

“While Chesapeake is a strong and resilient organization that reflects our incredibly talented employees, we must adapt our organizational structure to become a sustainable, profitable company in the energy sector,” Lawler said in the statement.

Lawler said the review is expected to be complete by Nov. 1.

A Chesapeake representative declined further comment Tuesday.

Chesapeake recently agreed to pay $7.5 million to settle a class action lawsuit alleging the company underpaid gas royalties to Pennsylvania leaseholders.