Phoenix, Arizona-based Freeport McMoRan Oil & Gas is laying off nearly two- dozen staff at its offices in Houston, Texas, its second wave of job cuts in five months.
The 23 workers will be released starting on November 12.
In May Freeport McMoRan Oil & Gas, a subsidiary of mining giant Freeport McMoRan, had made redundant 170 workers at the same Houston offices.
The job cutbacks are to cut the company’s debts and in reaction to poor performance by its oil division in these times of slumping prices. The parent company is redirecting its focus to mining, in particular copper.
Ten days ago Freeport McMoRan Oil & Gas sold its deep-water Gulf of Mexico assets to Texas-based Anadarko Petroleum for $2bn, a price that many analysts considered cheap.