AN INTERNATIONAL oil service firm is shedding nearly a quarter of its workforce at a site in Northern Ireland.
Schlumberger is cutting its workforce of 300 at Mallusk, Co Antrim, by 69, on top of several redundancies two months ago.
The company said the job cuts were because of reduced activity in the oil field services sector.
Terry Collins, regional organiser for the Unite union, said Schlumberger had indicated it expected an upturn in demand next year.
But he said: “These are highly-skilled jobs and, when they are lost, it is often difficult to get them back again.”
Less than two weeks ago, Schlumberger warned that nearly 60 positions were at risk in Aberdeen. It said 58 jobs were under threat at its Dyce drilling and measurements division.
A spokeswoman for the firm added: “This is a result of the reduced level of activity within the oil field services sector as customers reduce their exploration and production expenditure.”
Schlumberger employs 1,700 people in the Aberdeen area and around 3,500 in the UK out of an 82,000-strong workforce worldwide. A total of 240 work at the drilling and measurements operation at Dyce. Schlumberger has announced two rounds of job cuts this year in response to the global downturn. Each has involved about 5,000 positions and together they represent about 10% of the firm’s entire workforce.