Halliburton announced that it would lay off 650 workers across four U.S. states due to the slowdown in shale drilling. The oilfield services giant blamed “local market conditions” for slashing payrolls. “Making this decision was not easy, nor taken lightly, but unfortunately it was necessary as we work to align our operations to reduced customer activity,” Halliburton said in a statement. The job cuts were concentrated in Colorado, New Mexico, North Dakota and Wyoming. The cuts are not the first for Halliburton. Over the summer, the oilfield services company announced job cuts equivalent to 8 percent of its North American workforce. At the time, Halliburton CEO Jeff Miller said that the company would be “removing several layers of management” and that it would be “emphasizing a return on capital approach.” Notably, the company stacked idled equipment, as the market for oilfield services crashed amid a surplus of rigs and […]