Flying J to lay off 200 and sell pipeline

0 Comments | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Feb 5, 2009 | by Jasen Lee Deseret News

Citing the poor economy, Flying J Inc. said Wednesday that it plans to lay off 200 workers, including 80 employees in Utah.

The company also announced that it will seek a buyer for the assets of Longhorn Pipeline Holdings LLC and its subsidiaries. Longhorn Pipeline is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Flying J. Longhorn Pipeline transports gasoline and refined diesel products from a refining center in Houston to Crane and El Paso, Texas, Flying J said in a news release.

Flying J spokesman Tom Davies said that the layoffs would affect employees throughout the company.

"Due to further deterioration in the economy, we have been forced to eliminate approximately 200 positions to better align our business with market demand," the company said in the news release.

In December, the Ogden-based oil refiner, transporter and travel- center owner announced that it and some of its subsidiaries had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company blamed a cash crisis brought on by declining oil prices and tight credit markets.

At the time, Flying J President and Chief Executive Officer J. Phillip Adams said the company planned to continue its normal operations through the bankruptcy reorganization and did not expect to lay off any employees.

In the company's release Wednesday, Flying J said it had filed a motion with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., for approval to provide outplacement counseling services and severance packages to the employees who lose their jobs. The motion is scheduled to be heard on Feb. 18, according to the release.

Flying J is among the 20 largest private companies in the United States, with sales of more than $16.2 billion in 2007, according to court documents. The documents listed company assets of more than $1 billion and debt of $500 million to $1 billion.

Davies said that the company employs about 16,000 people nationwide, including 2,330 workers in Utah.

E-mail: jlee@desnews.com