EQT merger with Rice brings layoffs from both companies
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EQT confirmed there were layoffs in the aftermath of its merger with Rice Energy that was completed Monday.
EQT spokeswoman Linda Robertson said in an email Friday the layoffs were a result of redundancies in positions between the two companies. She declined to include the number of people who were eliminated as a result of the merger.
“Among the benefits of the transaction are opportunities to adopt the best of both companies, including business processes, technologies, and talent,” Robertson wrote in a statement. “We have taken careful consideration to retain the appropriate number of persons and positions necessary to safely and efficiently operate our company.
“Upon evaluation of EQT’s staffing needs, employees with more experience, or experience more relevant to our post-close working structure, have been retained. Retained employees consist of both EQT and former Rice personnel, as do employees whose roles have been identified as redundant or who have been severed. In addition, there are select former Rice personnel who have been asked to remain with EQT for a specified transition period to ensure business continuity.”
EQT president and chief executive officer announced in June the merger would “bring together two of the top Marcellus and Utica producers to form a natural gas operating position that will be unmatched in the industry,” noting that Rice’s acreage footprint was “largely contiguous to our existing acreage, which will provide substantial synergies…”
While EQT was already a leading producer in the Appalachian Basin, the Rice Energy acquisition made EQT the largest natural gas producer in the United States.
According to EQT’s website, it has more than 1,900 employees and Rice had more than 500 at the time of the transaction’s closure Monday.