Natgas Producer EQT Corp to Lay Off 15% of Workforce

EQT Corp said on Tuesday it would lay off about 15% of its workforce as part of an “integration process” following its $14 billion acquisition of Equitrans Midstream.

This marks the natural gas producer’s biggest job cut since 2019, when it laid off about 23% of its workforce just months after Toby Rice joined the company as its top boss.

In March, EQT agreed to buy Equitrans – its former pipeline unit – in a bid to help boost natural gas margins as producers struggled with a decline in natural gas prices, which collapsed to multi-year lows earlier this year.

Many U.S. drillers, including EQT, curtailed their natural gas output as companies looked to navigate a deep plunge in the commodity’s price.

However, last month CEO Rice told Reuters that EQT plans to reverse some of these natural gas production curtailments in October and November as demand for the fuel and prices increase.

The layoffs could result in pre-tax charges of up to $185 million, of which up to $170 million would be taken in the third quarter of 2024, EQT said in a regulatory filing.

The reduction plan, which would include the termination of former executives and other senior employees of Equitrans, is expected to be completed in 2025.

(Reporting by Vallari Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)