With demand for gasoline plunging and global oil markets in turmoil, more than 1,000 electricians, pipefitters and other skilled workers have been let go from projects at Bay Area refineries.
The workers have been sent home as the refinery operators halt or slow down activity at their facilities due to fallout from the coronavirus crisis.
The refineries hire skilled workers on contract for both major maintenance and capital improvement projects, many of which are now on hold. Oil companies might hire several hundred workers for turnaround projects, where they take a major piece of equipment offline to clean and repair it. Much of that work has been put delayed for now, Whitney said.
Timothy Jefferies, business manager for the Boilermakers Union Local 549, said between 85% and 90% of the unit's 850 members are out of work, mostly because of the refinery slowdown.
Tom Hansen, the president of Local 302 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers said about 150 of its members were in a similar situation.
The suspension of work is a direct result of the plummeting demand for gasoline and oil statewide. According to the California Energy Commission, demand for gasoline has declined 44 percent since mid-February, while demand for jet fuel has declined 63 percent. Diesel has taken less of a hit because trucks are still on the road.
Marathon Petroleum announced plans last week to indefinitely idle its Martinez refinery on April 27.
Chevron has said it’s making adjustments to operational plans at refineries due to lower demand. But it has not specified what changes they are making at the Richmond refinery, or if any contracted workers have been let go.
Phillips 66 announced last month it was reducing all of its refineries, including its facility in Rodeo, to minimum production levels. Valero, which operates a refinery in Benicia, has cut its production by at least 15%.
Read the full story from KQED's Nina Sparling here.