ConocoPhillips Announces Major Layoffs—What It Means for Oklahoma

One of Oklahoma's oldest and largest oil companies, ConocoPhillips, quietly delivered worrying news to the world of energy recently. They plan to lay off up to a quarter of their employees worldwide.

With refineries and operations up in Tulsa and Bartlesville, it's not the news Oklahoma was hoping to hear as gas prices come down.

Why ConocoPhillips Is Cutting Jobs

CEO Ryan Lance shared the news in a company-wide video.

With production costs climbing we will need fewer roles to stay competitive.

Reading between the lines, that's corporate speak for "We're going to work the ever-loving tar out of those who stay to produce more products with fewer people, and you should be thankful to have a job."

The reason they're cutting jobs? The cost to produce a barrel of oil has risen within the industry a whole $2, now $13 on average to produce.

While they haven’t specified which locations will get cut the hardest, Oklahoma workers are understandably on edge.

Oklahoma’s Ties to ConocoPhillips

ConocoPhillips has deep roots here. Formed in Bartlesville as Phillips66 nearly 100 years ago. Merged with the other Oklahoma oil and gas giant, Conoco, around the turn of the century, and walked away with the better name in the divorce years later.

Between the exploration, regional operations, and hundreds of local livelihoods in the balance, one of the few local sources notes there's been “no word how it might affect its operations in Bartlesville,” even as the broader wave of reduction sweeps through the organization.

For locals, the stakes are real. Many families, contractors, and ancillary businesses in our state depend on the stability of energy-sector work. A sudden reduction of up to a quarter of the global staff could devastate entire communities and even drive the price of gasoline up again - because we all know the oil and gas industry can't let a good crisis go to waste when there are record profits to be made...

How the Layoffs Will Work

On the corporate side, ConocoPhillips has offered affected employees 60 days’ notice, along with severance and outplacement support to find new jobs. Layoffs are set to begin as early as November 10, 2025, with terminations expected to start in December, and the layoffs are, so far, labeled as permanent.

Industry-Wide Pressures

From a big picture standpoint, this move mirrors industry-wide issues. While oil and gas had quite the boom during Biden's years in office, falling oil prices, consolidation through mergers - like the recent Marathon Oil integration - and tariff-driven costs on imported foreign oil (because some oil companies no longer have the capacity to drill for themselves) are forcing the industry to streamline.

What’s next for Oklahoma energy workers? For many, the priority will be understanding how (or if) the pain lands here. Which is fair, but ConocoPhillips has been quietly moving jobs to Texas for two decades now, and what remains is a sliver of what used to be.

The Outlook for Oklahoma Workers

Time will tell what the damage is to Oklahoma. But as the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, at least gas prices are coming down.