Laid off from Devon Energy.

What Devon Energy layoffs have meant for employees

Where you worked shaped how close the merger came to your job. Field staffing is typically sized by well count, production and driving distance, so operating savings weren't as focused on cutting head count, Coterra's employee FAQ told its staff, adding that the two companies' field operations overlapped in the Permian and Anadarko basins. Part of the corporate cost cuts would be employee reductions at both companies, inside a $1.0 billion synergy target that also counted capital optimization and operating margins, Devon's employee FAQ said, and field employees' own structure, field offices included, would be settled over the coming months. If you're in an office role or work in one of those two basins, it can help to ask how the reorganization treats your job and to get the answer in writing.

Following the work has sometimes led out of Devon altogether. When Devon sold assets in 2016, about 600 employees, mostly in field offices, were affected, and most were expected to move to the buyers, KGOU reported. In 2026 Coterra told its staff before closing that Midland would stay the operational center for the Permian Basin, and Devon told its own people in February that relocation packages would be detailed at the appropriate time. If you've been offered a relocation package, it can help to see its terms in writing beside the severance you'd be eligible for if you can't move and you meet the plan's requirements, before you decide. Devon's 2025 annual report lists a 401(k) contribution of up to 14% of earnings among its benefits, which belongs in that comparison too.

Which severance plan covers you depends on which company you came from. Devon told its people the merger wasn't a change of control under Devon's plans, since Devon kept the majority of shares and board seats, while Coterra told its people the merger was one under Coterra's plans. Either way, both FAQs tied eligibility to requirements set out in the plan itself. If you came over from Coterra, consider asking for a copy of Coterra's change-in-control plan document itself, and if you were with Devon, the Severance Plan document.

Health coverage is where the dates start to matter. Devon's annual report says the company wasn't collecting health care premiums from employees, and for jobs the merger eliminated, the company said that coverage would stay premium-free through the severance period. After that, the FAQ said, COBRA continuation runs up to 18 months at your own expense. If your severance period is short, it's worth pricing COBRA before the free weeks end, and our page on how COBRA works covers the election and its deadlines. Stock awards went to all employees, per that annual report. If your severance comes with a release, it's worth checking when it takes effect, since Devon's FAQ tied the vesting of unvested restricted stock to that date. Devon's second-quarter 10-Q counts $37 million of its merger restructuring as accelerated vesting of share-based grants.

Houston accounts for 22 of the 29 filings for Devon in our WARN tracker, all from 2010 to 2012, and the rest come from February 2016 in Texas and Oklahoma and from WPX Energy's Colorado operations before that company joined Devon. Devon employed more than 2,800 people in 2019, KGOU reported, and about 2,200 at the end of 2025, before Coterra's staff arrived. If your job ended in Oklahoma City, our page on Oklahoma unemployment benefits covers filing a claim there, and the Texas unemployment benefits page covers Houston. If a severance agreement comes with your notice, our page on negotiating severance covers what's worth raising before you sign.

A sourced history of Devon Energy layoffs

• May 2026, Coterra merger closes

  Devon closed its merger with Coterra on May 7, according to the Motley Fool transcript of its August call. Its second-quarter 10-Q put restructuring tied to the closing at $198 million, primarily employee severance, termination and relocation benefits and contract terminations.

• February 2026, staff told merger cuts would reach both companies

  Employee reductions would come across both companies as part of corporate cost cuts, with executive functions run from Houston, Coterra told its staff in a February 2 employee FAQ. Devon planned a continued significant presence in Oklahoma City, Devon's employee FAQ said.

• April 2021, WPX's Tulsa staff cut after the Devon merger

  WPX, merged into Devon that January, told Oklahoma in a WARN notice that at least 182 jobs would end by December 31 and that some offers would require relocating to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Energy Today reported.

• March 2019, about 200 jobs tied to Canada and Barnett

  Devon was letting go about 200 workers, most tied to Canadian and Barnett Shale assets it was selling or spinning off, the Journal Record's editor said on KGOU. Those affected were getting severance.

• April 2018, about 300 jobs, roughly 9% of staff

  Devon said it would lay off 300 workers across all areas of the company, not only its Oklahoma City headquarters, and expected the cuts to help save $150 million to $200 million by 2020, a Reuters report said.

• February 2016, about 1,000 jobs, 700 in Oklahoma City

  Headquarters staff were to hear by that Thursday and field workers by February 22, KGOU reported. Devon's notices that month went to Oklahoma on February 19 and to Texas on February 26, including 300 jobs in Spring, our WARN tracker shows.

• October 2012, Houston operations center closing announced

  Devon was shutting its Houston operations center, where about 500 people worked, ending most administrative and support jobs and moving technical ones to Oklahoma City, StateImpact Oklahoma reported. A Devon notice to Texas that November listed 320 Houston jobs ending December 31, our WARN tracker shows.

What to do if you're laid off from Devon Energy

• File for unemployment in the state where you worked. Benefits run from your filing date, and severance usually doesn't block you. Devon Energy's biggest hubs: Oklahoma, Texas. Somewhere else? Every state is here.
• Apply for financial and hardship assistance. Unemployment supplements income, but food benefits, health coverage and utility help are often available as well. Here's some of what Devon Energy's hub states run: Oklahoma, Texas, and every other state is here.
• Mind the health insurance window. Losing coverage opens a 60-day special enrollment period, and an ACA plan usually beats unsubsidized COBRA. Compare your options before the employer coverage lapses, and read how the COBRA clocks run if you are weighing it seriously.
• Get your real runway number. Severance plus savings divided by reality. The calculator takes five minutes.
• Know which clocks are already running. Severance review windows, COBRA election, visa grace periods, and 401(k) rollovers all run on federal deadlines that started at termination. All five deadlines are here.