Chesapeake says it has cut 50 jobs in OKC office

Chesapeake Energy Corp. has acknowledged that it has laid off employees in Oklahoma City.

The independent natural gas producer said in a statement Monday that it "eliminated less than 50 positions of over 3,300" at its corporate office in Oklahoma City.

Rumors of the layoffs had swirled late last week, although Chesapeake declined to acknowledge the job cuts until Monday.

The company says the jobs were cut "to correspond with the level of existing exploration and activity." Chesapeake has dropped its operated rig count from 158 in August to 95 now because of lower natural gas prices.

Chesapeake says it has more than 8,300 employees in the U.S.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.