--- title: U.S. Oil Industry Layoffs Near 100K, And They Could Get Worse | TIME description: Low-cost oil is making more and more drilling operations unprofitable, leading to nearly 100,000 job losses in the U.S. alone. canonical: https://time.com/video/d49TUyiC/ og:title: U.S. Oil Industry Layoffs Near 100K, And They Could Get Worse og:description: Low-cost oil is making more and more drilling operations unprofitable, leading to nearly 100,000 job losses in the U.S. alone. og:url: https://time.com/video/d49TUyiC/ og:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/d49TUyiC/poster.jpg?width=720 og:type: video.other twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: U.S. Oil Industry Layoffs Near 100K, And They Could Get Worse twitter:description: Low-cost oil is making more and more drilling operations unprofitable, leading to nearly 100,000 job losses in the U.S. alone. twitter:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/d49TUyiC/poster.jpg?width=720 --- # U.S. Oil Industry Layoffs Near 100K, And They Could Get Worse > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: U.S. Oil Industry Layoffs Near 100K, And They Could Get Worse [Watch (HLS stream): U.S. Oil Industry Layoffs Near 100K, And They Could Get Worse](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/d49TUyiC.m3u8) (1:59)  _Published 2015-04-01. Low-cost oil is making more and more drilling operations unprofitable, leading to nearly 100,000 job losses in the U.S. alone._ --- Jul 27, 2023 6:06 PM UTC --- ## More From This Series [All Videos](https://time.com/video/) [Dr. Fauci Says Coronavirus Deaths in U.S. Could Top 100,000](/video/yLR9SmLL/) ### Dr. Fauci Says Coronavirus Deaths in U.S. Could Top 100,000 [IEA Predicts Oil Demand Slowdown, More Low Prices](/video/IvV8JkEQ/) ### IEA Predicts Oil Demand Slowdown, More Low Prices [BP Gets Permission To Resume Oil Drilling In Gulf](/video/IbZEkFKb/) ### BP Gets Permission To Resume Oil Drilling In Gulf --- ## Transcript Ever since oil prices started plummeting last year, drivers have been cheering while industry experts warned of looming job cuts. Now it seems those cuts are here. Halliburton, Shell, and a host of other companies have already started to lay off workers. According to a new report from USA Today, the Number of layoffs in the U. S. alone are now approaching 100, 000. They're not expected to stop there. Oklahoma, Texas, North Dakota, and Louisiana, are where most of the cuts are happening. OKC- based Continental Resources says 91, 000 energy- related jobs had to be cut since December. The cuts come from the fact that, as oil gets cheaper, more and more oil wells become unprofitable to operate. The price per barrel, even for brent crude, has spent most of 2015 under $ 60. And analysts are starting to predict greater job losses on the horizon. It's estimated Texas could lose 140, 000 direct and indirect energy jobs by mid- year. Tonight it's about the guys on the rigs. It, it's about nine million Americans who are supported directly and indirectly by our industry. You got hospital workers. You've got healthcare. You've got folks at hotels and restaurants. What's interesting though is that despite both global and domestic job cuts, US production keeps growing. In part, because US drilling techniques are becoming more efficient. But there's nowhere for it to go. By law, US companies can't export their surplus crude. Senate Republicans have put forward a plan to end the decades- old export ban. But in the mean time US stockpiles continue to grow. Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told Bloomberg in mid March. Oil companies will have to cut production soon. And that's when the real job cuts will kick in. The capacity to, to basically build a cap oil expansion remains there. And frankly, I had expected it to turn down or ease a number of weeks ago. Experts continue to be divided over oil's fate. 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