As you probably heard, Chesapeake Energy laid off 562 employees from its Oklahoma City campus yesterday. That accounts for nearly 20% of the Oklahoma City workforce.
In an exclusive interview with The Oklahoman's PR division, CEO Doug Lawler explained the difficult decision:
"The workforce reduction is very painful to me personally and to the leadership team of the entire company, but we have to take the necessary steps to remain a competitive, profitable company," CEO Doug Lawler said Tuesday in an exclusive interview with The Oklahoman. "We will take the necessary actions to protect our company, to protect our shareholders and all stakeholders, including the businesses in the community."
Before Tuesday's cuts, Chesapeake recently laid off another 60 people, Lawler said.
As a guy who got riffed from the corporate world in 2011, my thoughts go out to all the Chesapeake employees who were affected by this layoff. I also feel bad for their friends who will no longer get to tag along to Thunder games for free. Keep your heads up. We wish you the best of luck finding a new job or becoming a full-time blogger.
This is the second big layoff Doug Lawler has overseen at Chesapeake since he took control of the company in 2013. That year, Chesapeake let go of 640 employees at the Oklahoma City campus. Here's what Lawler told The Oklahoman's PR division in yet another "exclusive interview" after that rif:
“It has been a very difficult day. This has affected a significant number of Chesapeake employees,” Chesapeake CEO Doug Lawler told The Oklahoman. “It's been very difficult for us and for all those involved. It also is an essential step in making Chesapeake a competitive, productive, strong and vibrant company for decades to come.”
Poor guy. It must be tough on him having to lay off all those employees. Fortunately, as we first told you in 2013, Lawler has a big, nice lavish home in Oak Tree to keep him busy and insulate him from the pain ex-Chesapeake employees have to endure. He's able to afford this home in part to the $14.6-million he earned in 2014.
Here are some photos:
Nice little pad, huh? Who knew laying off employees could be so profitable!
When Lawler first purchased the home in 2013, it was only worth $3.75 million. According to the Oklahoma County Assessor, the property value has increased to $4.15-million. Zillow estimates the value at $4.39. That's a nice little return on investment! Hopefully all the former Chesapeake employees who can no longer afford their house payments get the same return when they are forced to sell their homes. Maybe even Lawler can be the one who purchases them! It will probably be a buyers market.
