TULSA , Okla. — A former employee of CD&H, Inc. says they were laid off Tuesday following speculation about potential layoffs amid falling oil prices. The former employee had been working at the HollyFrontier oil refinery for eight months.

The former employee says whisperings of time off began when COVID-19 (coronavirus) began spreading, and oil prices began falling.

The former employee says they worked all day Monday. At the end of the shift, the former employee says they were going to have the next few weeks off, with potential layoffs.

"We were expecting to go home and not work for three weeks," the former employee said.

On Tuesday, the former employee was notified they were being laid off, however HollyFrontier did not layoff the employee. The former employee says about 70 "non-essential personnel" were being laid off. There were 85 to 90 personnel working at CD&H, the former employee says.

"That's a pretty dramatic downsize," the former employee said.

The employees who took care of civil engineering projects were among the most laid off, according to the former employee.

The former employee says they are now going to file for unemployment and wait until companies begin hiring again. The former employee then plans to begin looking to leave the industry and work at a local business in Tulsa.

In a statement, a HollyFrontier representative tells 2 Works for You they have not made any layoffs:

"HollyFrontier Tulsa Refining has not eliminated employee positions at this time. We are continuing to safely operate our Tulsa refinery. We are monitoring the COVID-19 situation closely and are addressing it with our employees, contractors and other stakeholders to reduce risk.

"To continue operating safely, we have limited onsite staff at all our HollyFrontier refineries to essential personnel only. As a result, we are carefully evaluating projects at the refinery, and are currently limiting or postponing non-essential projects and contractor work to protect the health and safety of our workforce. In addition, employees who are able to work from home are doing so."

2 Works for You has reached out to CD&H, Inc. for comment and confirmation of the layoffs, but has not yet heard back.

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