Leading U.S. oil company announces job cuts due to low oil prices

The fourth-largest U.S. oil company Anadarko Petroleum Corporation announced Thursday it has decided to cut 17 percent of its workforce, about 1,000 jobs, as a result of the ongoing oil price slump.

They had been very carefully evaluating what their staffing levels should be, given the downcycle, said John Christiansen, spokesman for the Houston-based company.

Last month, the company said it would cut its capital spending by half this year and evaluate its staffing needs as it reduces activity.

The company produces oil and gas in Colorado, the Permian Basin in West Texas, the Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere.

Since mid-2014, oil producers, along with retail and service providers, have slashed more than 320,000 jobs across the world, a Houston-based consultancy said Thursday.

In the United States, the oil and gas industry has cut 70,000 jobs and idled 1,400 drilling rigs in a year and a half. Endi