Falling energy prices and a sluggish economy claimed about 185 jobs at Air-X-Changers' plants in Catoosa and Sapulpa, the company's parent, Harsco, announced Thursday.

The layoffs, which are immediate, cut Air-X-Changers' work force by more than 30 percent.

The company said about 40 percent of those laid off have been with it less than six months.

Air-X-Changers has three operations at the Tulsa Port of Catoosa and one in Sapulpa. None will be closed.

Before the cuts, Air-X-Changers had about 600 employees in the Tulsa area. The company makes air-cooled heat exchanger systems for the natural gas industry.

A spokesman declined to provide details about any severance packages.

A Harsco statement said: "The reductions at our Air-X-Changers division are necessary to align capacity with the current economic realities and expectations. The global financial and economic crisis has impacted virtually every industry, and while Harsco is weathering the storm, its businesses have not been immune."

Harsco blamed declines in energy prices, particularly natural gas, for the layoffs. A Harsco spokesman said the company had hired many employees when energy prices were soaring in 2008.

Harsco reported Thursday that its first quarter revenues had dropped by 29 percent, compared with the same period in 2008.

Since November, natural gas prices on the spot market in the region have fallen from more than $7 per thousand cubic feet to as low at $3.19 in late April, according to Bloomberg data.

Air-X-Changers

Local facilities: Tulsa Port of Catoosa (3), Sapulpa

Employees: 600

Layoffs: 185

Product: Air-cooled heat exchangers for natural gas industry

Kyle Arnold 581-8380

Originally published by KYLE ARNOLD World Staff Writer.

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