I thought people crying bankruptcy were being alarmists and overly dramatic, but somehow that has in the last few months turned not only into an actual possibility but a most likely one.
I'm now wondering if there is literally ANYTHING that can be done to avoid Chapter 11 (or even Chapter 7?)
You are right many employees can't take much more. Should we look forward to another 2-3% raise in four years to keep us motivated?
I think Weatherford will be allowed to survive albeit in a much reduced form.
The problem will be trying to win over operational staff who have been shat upon for years and trying to ask them to make even more sacrifices on top of the ones already made.
Good luck with that.
Keep in mind that most debt is in a Bermuda company with a Swiss parent that technically has an Irish parent. Will be a complicated bankruptcy if they even call it that and some firm will get paid a lot to sort it all out with WFT’s complicated structure.
I sat down this morning and dropped out two shares of WFT.
After bankruptcy Weatherford may be able to stay alive and operate. 7-11 went through it as well.
What will happen at chapter 11? Will we be Asked to leave?
as mr benny saud before leaving that he can’t believe the company is self destructing.... mo--n did it.
When I left in 2013 they were in free fall, I'm amazed it has taken until now to finally crash.
There are a few damn good service hands left, and my heart goes out to them for sure.
Actually the last comment is correct. Action 24 months ago would have only delayed this further. The real time for action was 13/14 and even at that point it would have required a drastic action like selling ALS to manage the then $6B debt. That would not have been enough, abandoning company killing turnkeys, focusing sales on bundling, getting control of inventories and reducing footprint and corporate overhead would have been required. All of the above were attempted but there was a failure to execute. Blame the current CEO all you like, the reality is WFT fate was sealed the minute the downturn hit.
No. I remember in 2012 when they woke up to the fact that burning through cash and just issuing more debt wasn’t going to work much longer. Unfortunately, it was too late at that point as they didnt act fast enough, didn’t do enough, and then the crash in oil prices essentially sealed the deal. It’s a vicious cycle, less revenue and too much debt + no free cash flow means banks and investors eventually get worried. When you’re at their mercy, borrowing costs go up even more, credit lines dry up, and then winning new business and fulfilling current obligations becomes even harder. Eventually there will simply be no choice as revolving credit facilities mature and/or bond payments become due and can’t be refinanced.
No there is nothing that can be done. The time to do something was 24 months ago.