Chesapeake Layoffs Will Have Ripple Effect Across Metro
Chesapeake layoffs will ripple through Oklahoma City economy
By Paul Monies
Hundreds of layoffs at Chesapeake Energy Corp. on Tuesday will ripple through the Oklahoma City area economy, which has managed to escape the worst of the recent recession with a robust energy sector.
Local economists said Chesapeake’s announcement of about 640 job losses at its Oklahoma City headquarters will begin to show up in employment statistics and income data later this year. But the effects will be relatively minor in the long-term.
Chad Wilkerson, branch executive and economist at the Oklahoma City branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, said the layoffs represent about one-tenth of 1 percent of total employment of about 600,000 in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area.
“But if there are reductions in local spending from laid-off workers, this will have a larger spillover effect on the rest of the local economy,” Wilkerson said.