Staff Reductions At Chesapeake Energy

In an email, Chesapeake Energy employees learned 86 workers were "separated from the company" during the latest round of staff reduction Tuesday.

Tuesday, September 24th 2013, 11:03 am

By: News 9

News 9 has learned there's been another large reduction in staff at Chesapeake Energy.

The staff changes happened Tuesday morning. According to an email, 86 employees were affected.

The changes come about two weeks after several vice presidents were let go. The executives had served for several years under co-founder and former CEO Aubrey McClendon.

In an email sent September 17, new CEO Doug Lawler told Chesapeake employees a comprehensive review of company operations would be completed by November 1. He also said the company had to "adapt our organizational structure to become a sustainable [and] profitable."

The company sent the following email to employees Tuesday:

Dear Chesapeake Employees,

Today we implemented additional changes to our organizational structure. We have now appointed leaders to the top five levels of the company and remain on track to complete our organizational structure realignment by November 1.

As part of this process, certain employees from Administrative Services, CEMI, Communications, Drilling, HR, IT, Land, Operating Services, Regulatory, Treasury, and Corporate Reserves were separated from the company. In total, 86 employees were impacted. These individuals have played an important role in the growth of our company, and we worked hard to ensure that each was treated with integrity and respect throughout this process.

Finalizing our leadership team enables us to successfully execute our renewed focus on Financial Discipline and Profitable and Efficient Growth from Captured Resources. The new organizational structure is vital to the long-term health of our company, and it will continue to leverage the many positive aspects of Chesapeake's culture, including our agility, speed, and collaborative work environment. The new structure is also designed to break down silos and increase accountability throughout the organization, while driving standardization, efficiency, and continuous improvement.

I fully recognize the difficulty and stress associated with the transformation process. I assure you that we are working as quickly as possible to improve and position Chesapeake for future success. I encourage you to contact your vice president or a member of the senior management team with any questions, as we continue to welcome the chance to hear directly from you.

News 9's Dana Hertneky is digging for more details on this story and will have more throughout the day.