Oilfield pipe manufacturer Tenaris plans to lay off 900 people as record low oil prices and the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic are crushing demand for new pipeline projects.

In a statement, Tenaris confirmed that the company plans to suspend operations at plants in Pennsylvania and Ohio and reduce the number of workers at plants in Texas and Arkansas.

“These are extraordinary times for our sector that require us to implement difficult, short-term measures to temporarily lean our operations to maintain a long-term solid position to serve our customers,” Tenaris U.S. President Luca Zanotti said in a statement.

Tenaris plans to suspend operations March 31 at plants in Koppel and Ambridge, Pa., and suspend operations April 17 at its threading plant in Brookfield, Ohio.

The company plans to reduce the number of workers at its threading plant in the Houston suburb of Baytown and its welded pipe plant in Hickman, Arkansas starting April 17.

A notice filed with the Texas Workforce Commission shows that the company will shed 223 jobs at the Baytown plant.

“The unanticipated international oil price conflict and the sudden, drastic drop in oil prices along with the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the market require immediate action,” Tenaris Human Resources Senior Director Kevin Schnurbusch wrote in the notice.

Over the past decade, Tenaris grew from about 50 Houston employees to more than 2,000. The company opened a sprawling $1.8 billion pipe mill southwest of Houston in Bay City in 2017 and reopened its Conroe plant last year.

Considered to be the largest steel pipe producer in North America, Tenaris posted a $743 million profit on $7.3 billion of sales in 2019.

SOURCE