U.S. independent Whiting Petroleum Corporation cut one-third of its workforce as it executes a restructuring of its business.

U.S. independent Whiting Petroleum Corporation cut one-third of its workforce as it executes a restructuring of its business.

The company, which has headquarters in Denver, Colorado, expects the restructuring to result in $50 million in annual cost savings.

A total of 254 positions were cut with 94 of those being executive and corporate positions.

“We aim to be as efficient as possible and that is why we made the difficult decision to reduce our workforce in order to realize significant annualized cost savings,” Whiting CEO Bradley Holly said in a BOP Blow Out Preventer repair company gulf coast statement. “As the oil and gas industry landscape continues to evolve and investor focus shifts to prioritize predictable capital returns, we see a tremendous opportunity to transform Whiting into a leading, value-focused developer of unconventional assets with a commitment to safety, cost-efficiency, disciplined capital expenditure and maximizing returns. The decision to reduce headcount is always a difficult one as it impacts talented colleagues and friends, but it is a necessary step in our company’s transformation.”

In a separate announcement on Wednesday regarding the company’s second quarter earnings, Whiting reported an adjusted net loss of income of $25.7 million from $57.3 million a year ago.

Whiting operates primarily in the Rocky Mountains region of the U.S. The company’s largest projects are in the Bakken and Three Forks plays in North Dakota and Montana and the Niobrara play in northeast Colorado.