Chesapeake trimming about 70 employees in North Texas

Chesapeake announced Tuesday it is trimming its staff in Fort Worth and Cleburne by about 70 employees, or about 8 percent. That will leave 700 people in the company's offices in North Texas.

Julie Wilson, Chesapeake's vice president of urban development in Fort Worth, said employees were informed of the reduction plan Tuesday morning.

“While the news was not a surprise given historic low natural gas prices and our company's ongoing strategy to redeploy assets to more economically promising fields, it was of course a disappointment,” Wilson wrote in an email to employees.

Chesapeake will eliminate positions in several support departments, including public affairs, communications, community relations, legal, land administration and information technology.

“These are the departments most directly impacted by reduced leasing and drilling activity,” Wilson said.