Chesapeake offers 'voluntary separation' to 275

Cash-strapped Chesapeake Energy Corp. has offered "voluntary separation" to about 275 employees as part of an effort to improve efficiency and cut costs, the company said Friday.

The nation's second-largest natural gas producer after Exxon Mobil Corp has struggled to fund its operations and service its debt payments since natural gas prices plummeted to their lowest levels in a decade earlier this year.

The Oklahoma City-based company has taken on more loans to help it pay off its debt, most recently reported at nearly $16 billion, as it has attempted to shift its efforts to focus more on production of oil and other hydrocarbons.

But 79 percent of the company's overall production remains in low-priced natural gas.

The separation offers went to employees who met criteria for age and years of service with Chesapeake. Employees who take the offer will leave the company in February, although Chesapeake has retained the right to delay departures "to ensure appropriate staffing levels to meet business needs," the company said.

A Chesapeake spokesman declined to comment on the potential for layoffs, or on the location of workers who got offers.

Chesapeake has 2,400 employees in Texas, including 35 in Houston.

The announcement did not appear to alarm investors, as shares in Chesapeake fell less than 1 percent on the New York Stock Exchange, to $16.56.

Chesapeake's stock is down about 26 percent since the start of 2012.