Houston firms see more layoffs, furloughs
Houston companies this week said they would lay off or furlough hundreds of workers as the coronavirus pandemic continues to shake the local economy.
Transocean Deepwater, the world’s largest offshore drilling contractor, said it will lay off as many as 110 workers after the Houston company failed to secure a new contract for one of its drillships.
The 75 to 110 workers on the Discoverer Inspiration, which operated in international waters off the Gulf of Mexico, are expected to be cut beginning Sept. 15, Transocean told the Texas Workforce Commission on Tuesday.
Some could return if the rig gets another contract, the company said.
While the oil bust has hurt energy companies across the board, it’s been particularly tough on offshore drillers because their operations require large amounts of upfront capital and a longer return on investment.
Hotel workers furloughed
Employees of downtown’s recently renovated C. Baldwin Hotel will be out of work for more than six months, longer than the hotel operator expected when it first began reducing its workforce in March.
The furloughs affect 144 em
ployees, according to a Thursday letter to the Texas Workforce Commission.
“Contrary to our expectations, governmental orders continue to impose substantial limitations on our operations at this location, including social distancing guidelines, limits on large public gatherings and capacity limitations,” a hotel official said in the letter to the agency.
The COVID-19 pandemic has slammed the hotel market since the first stay-athome orders were issued, with business and leisure travel limited.
Grocery wholesaler cuts 90
Houston-based Grocers Supply will close its administrative offices and lay off 90 people, according to a
filing with the Texas Workforce Commission.
The company plans to permanently eliminate positions at its Kirby Drive offices beginning Sept. 4, Alan Kintisch, senior vice president and deputy general counsel for parent company C&S Wholesale Grocers, wrote in a July 3 letter to the commission.
“GSC Wholesale … is taking steps to be more efficient and reduce costs,” Kintisch wrote in a memo to employees.
Grocers Supply recently occupied a new 727,600square-foot distribution center on Woodham in North Houston and acquired 34 acres surrounding that property. The company said the distribution center would consolidate several of its operations into one facility to more efficiently distribute food products throughout Houston.