Halliburton to cut management layers in North America as oil bust continues

Halliburton Co., the world's second-largest oilfield services provider, told employees that more jobs are being cut in North America, the region hardest hit by the yearlong crude crash.

The Houston-based company, which generates nearly half its sales in the U.S. and Canada, will "flatten the North America business by eliminating multiple layers of management," President Jeff Miller wrote in a memo sent to employees Monday. Emily Mir, a spokeswoman at Halliburton, confirmed the memo Wednesday in an e-mail. She declined to specify the total number of additional jobs to be cut.

"Secondly, we will reduce additional headcount commensurate with market activity levels," he wrote. "While the international markets have demonstrated more near-term resiliency, we continue to size the organization to the market."

The memo was first reported by the CapGainr equity analysis website.

Halliburton told analysts and investors in July that it had cut its global headcount by more than 16 per cent. That adds up to nearly 14,000 jobs cut since its peak staff size last year, Mir said in an e-mail.

Explorers and producers are expected to slash spending 35 per cent this year in North America, J. David Anderson, an analyst at Barclays, wrote earlier this month in a note to investors.