Halliburton

Halliburton announced today it is to slash 5,000 jobs, cutting its workforce by eight per cent, in a bid to withstand the prolonged weak oil market.

Halliburton's decision to purchase rival oilfield services company Baker Hughes was not driven by current low oil prices but by current conditions in the industry, said CEO Dave Lesar on Tuesday.

Halliburton has agreed to plead guilty to destroying evidence in the Deepwater Horizon disaster, the Justice Department said.