SemGroup workers crucial in Tulsa

By Don Mecoy

Published: August 12, 2008

TULSA — Remaining employees at SemGroup LP, after the bankrupt company fired about 13 percent of its workforce, including 110 in its Tulsa headquarters, are a key asset of the Tulsa energy business, spokeswoman Brenda Adrian said.

The layoffs of 250 employees — "from clerical to managerial and everything in between” — were effective immediately, Adrian said.

Prior to the firings, SemGroup employed about 2,000 workers nationwide and about 400 in Tulsa.

"We certainly hope that it's approved,” Adrian said. "It was mentioned in the first-day motions that we filed, but it wasn't explicitly requested.”

SemGroup filed for bankruptcy on July 22, reporting that its energy-trading program had collapsed amid $2.4 billion in losses.

In its early bankruptcy court filings, the company said it planned to lay off up to 276 employees, a figure Chief Executive Officer Terry Ronan shared with employees at the same time, Adrian said.

"Everyone was terribly focused on that number,” she said. This round of layoffs resolves that court filing, and no other layoff plans have been made public, Adrian said.

"In many of these business units, the employees are an asset,” she said. "They are well-trained, they are excellent employees — they actually raise the asset level. They're what make the company work well, so they would most likely go in a sale.”

Tulsa Money Manager Jake Dollarhide said many of the remaining employees are closely aligned with SemGroup's asset base.

"That's not saying more layoffs aren't going to happen,” Dollarhide said. "SemGroup is in lockdown mode, they're trying to harvest whatever they can out of a very bad, sad, unfortunate situation.”

Adrian said employees are trying to focus on the job at hand at a tough time.

"It's a challenging environment,” Adrian said. "The employees have risen to the challenge well. Everyone knows the company is facing serious financial challenges.

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