Halliburton Closes El Reno Oklahoma Facility-Over 800 Jobs Lost

The oilfield company, Halliburton, told the City of El Reno it is closing its facility there and more than 800 workers will be permanently laid off.

The company asked El Reno police officers to watch the entrances Monday as workers left for the last time.

The mass lay-off was announced just weeks before Christmas.

“I think the people of El Reno are strong," said El Reno's Mayor Matt White. "I think they are resilient to this deal. Of course, we feel for those 808 people who have lost their jobs around Christmas time, it’s just terrible."

Not all of the 808 workers live in the city limits, but White says losing them will hurt local businesses.

“It is absolutely going to affect our community," White said. "It’s going to affect our restaurants, it’s going to affect our small businesses here in our community. At lunchtime those guys are full, the hotels are full with Halliburton trucks. It’s going to affect us."

In a letter, Halliburton wrote to the city, positions that would likely be cut ranged from truck drivers to lab technicians.

Mayor White is hopeful that training facilities like the Canadian Valley Technology Center and Redlands Community College can help train former employees for new jobs in the area.

"I think it’s tragic that we’ve lost those jobs," White said. "I have seen those jobs come and go based on the oilfield, and I’ve seen other things replace those jobs. That’s what I think we’re hoping for at this point in time."

Halliburton did not answer questions from Fox 25 about the lay-offs on Monday but said it would provide more information on Tuesday.

Source: OKC Fox