In this file photo, Caleb Adair, a floorhand from Booneville, Ark., builds stands on a drilling rig near Malaga, N.M. The oil industry has recovered since its worst days in April.
A Houston manufacturer of drill pipe said it may layoff its entire workforce — nearly 500 people — as a result of the energy downturn and coronavirus, according to a filing with the Texas Workforce Commission. Thick Wall Square Steel Pipe
Texas Steel Conversion, which manufacturers metal tubing and pipe for the oilfield industry, said in a notice that it may begin laying off workers at the company’s six locations this month.
“Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the current oil and gas market, all 491 employees, in all job functions, are potentially at risk of losing their position,” Texas Steel Conversion wrote in a letter to the state.
But, Texas Steel Conversion said in a comment that it does not plan to shutter the plants.
“TSC is reducing its workforce due to the impact COVID-19 has had on the oil and gas industry,” said Mark Carnahan, vice president of sales at Texas Steel Conversion. “TSC has no plans to shut down operations.”
An oil price bust has caused oil and gas operators to slash drilling activity in recent months, and tens of thousands of oil and gas industry workers across Texas lost their jobs in April.
More: Read the latest oil and gas news from HoustonChronicle.com
Texas Steel Conversion said in the letter to the state that it will attempt to continue operating its manufacturing and processing facilities by obtaining new contracts, but “the success of such efforts is entirely unknown.”
The company expects to begin layoffs June 15. The cuts may come in stages, the company notice said.
Texas Steel Conversion was founded in 1975 and headquartered in Houston. In 2000, it began manufacturing drill pipe; the company has four manufacturing facilities in Houston and one in Bryan, Texas, near College Station. Texas Steel Conversion also has one Houston sales location.
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