DUNCAN, Okla. — Several former employees of the world’s largest oil field services company showed up to the local branch of the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission (OESC) early Wednesday morning claiming the company had just laid them off.

OESC Center Manager Chris Moore said as of mid-morning Thursday, about 30 people who said they were laid off from Halliburton, the city’s largest employer, that morning filed paperwork at his office.

“There were already several people waiting in the parking lot when I got here, which was about 15 minutes until 8 (a.m.)” he said.

The company started in Oklahoma, but later moved its headquarters to Houston, Texas and overseas to Dubai. It maintains a major research center and energy institute in Duncan, Oklahoma from which the employees were let go.

Halliburton Spokesperson William Fitzgerald said he could not comment on specifics regarding Duncan’s plant, but globally Halliburton has laid off 18,000 employees since its peak in 2014. He would not comment on the total number of employees laid off from the Duncan, Oklahoma plant.

President for Duncan Area Economic Development Foundation (DAEDF) Lyle Roggow said while the warning of layoffs were never directly brought to his attention, DAEDF’s employees were already aware of the possibility.

“That was always a speculation that was out there,” Roggow said. “Unfortunately, with the oil prices being what they are and the lack of drilling activity or activity that provides the services that Halliburton does, that made it a really challenging situation.”

Last month, news of additional cuts linked to the North American crude oil slump mentioned layoffs and workforce cuts that would rise as high as the company’s middle management sector.

Rep. Dennis Johnson (R-Duncan) said that while downsizing is never a good thing, he believes it’s to be expected as the cycle continues.

“It’s also something that anyone who has been in Duncan for any length of time comes to expect with ups and downs of the oil patch,” Johnson said. “Unfortunately we’re heavily reliant on the oil patch in our county and we are number two in oil production in the state, and we’re number eight in natural gas production in the state.”

Roggow, however, said DAEDF is doing everything it can to change oil reliance around the area.

“We’re trying to do everything we possibly can do,” Roggow said. “We have been for some time trying to help diversify our community as we move forward.”

Oil reliance in Oklahoma and much of the midwest has forged a historical bond with the industry that could prove difficult to break.

Nonetheless, Chamber of Commerce President Chris Deal focused more on the individuals and the families affected by the current layoffs.

“Any time you lose any jobs, it’s devastating to the family and it’s devastating to those people who work with that family,” Deal said. “As far as what it’s going to do to our economy, no one knows … I’m more worried about the families themselves individually.”

Roggow undoubtedly agreed, but knows the community is strong when faced with daunting hardship and setbacks.

“We hate it, but we also understand it and don’t like it,” Roggow said. “We will persevere. Everybody will get through this and let’s hope this is only a short-term issue.”

Halliburton’s Duncan, Oklahoma plant employed over 2,800 people before Thursday’s layoffs.

The Duncan (Oklahoma) Banner contributed details to this story.