The North Yard facilities in Aransas Pass, where 251 workers will lose their jobs by Jan. 16, 2017, according to an announcement by Gulf Marine Fabricators. Courtesy photo
For the second time in 17 months, Gulf Marine Fabricators will be laying off workers. This time, 251 workers at the Aransas Pass facility will be laid off between now and Jan. 16, 2017. Employees were notified Nov. 16, according to a report released by the Texas Workforce Commission, which is helping laid-off workers with services such as crisis counseling, stress management and job hunting.
Gulf Marine Fabricators builds, maintains and provides services for offshore drilling and production platforms. The publicly traded company is headquartered in Houston and has facilities in Ingleside as well as several in Louisiana.
According to information from Gulf Marine Fabricators’ home office, the loss of jobs comes from a loss of work for the company.
“Management and our marketing department are working endlessly in an effort to pursue any and all potential jobs for Gulf Island Fabrication, Inc. and its subsidiaries in order to aid our companies and overcome these challenging times,” reads a letter to employees from management. “Gulf Island Fabrication, Inc. has carefully analyzed the consequences of these potential jobs not being awarded to our companies. We regret to inform you that should we not be awarded enough jobs, we will have no choice but to reduce our operations at Gulf Marine Fabricators, LP.”
The company also told employees it hopes to recall workers when and if more jobs are secured in the future. The lack of work for the company has been blamed on the downturn in the oil and gas industry.
The Aransas Pass North Yard facility is one of two the company operates in the Coastal Bend along with the South Yard in Ingleside about three miles away.
The North Yard contains 160 acres, 85 of which are dedicated to fabrication. The facility covers 3,000 linear feet of waterfront and includes a climate-controlled paint building and a 120,000-square-foot deck assembly building.
