Yay!

Kerr McGee is staying!!!

I hope all of you sent letters of support to Kerr McGee - I did and am so happy to say that they are staying in OK with no take over.... sometimes even a small gesture can have positive results! :congrats:
Corbett said he was appreciative of the support Kerr-McGee received from Oklahomans.

"We have received hundreds of letters, cards and phone calls of support from people throughout the community during the past few weeks," Corbett said. "This outstanding show of support from our peers, friends and neighbors, is greatly appreciated by our management team and our employees."

Local leaders had positive reactions to the news of a settlement.

"Kerr-McGee is a good corporate citizen and it's great for Oklahoma City that the differences have been resolved," said John Hermes, executive director of McAfee and Taft. "This is beneficial to the shareholders. It's great news for all of those who want to continue to make an investment in Kerr-McGee."

It was very comforting when Luke Corbett said that, as long he is he is around, Kerr-McGee will stay in OKC. Let's hope he's around for along time...

Yes, I am very excited about this. it really shows that OKC has much to offer (and has really changed for the better, since the late 1980s/early 1990s).

I remember when companies were leaving the city right and left! At least we are now holding on to our big 6 (in Fortune 1000/500). That speaks!!!

Kerr McGee is staying!!!...

...for now.


Let's not count our chickens too quickly. There is still the divestiture of the chemical business and several billion dollars of E&P assets to take into consideration. When that's all said and done a move out of OKC could be quite possible. Moreover, with substantially less assets and a transformation to a 'pure-play' E&P company, KMG will be a much more attractive takeover target for larger firms. While the affects of upcoming changes to KMG will not have immediate repercussions, look to early to mid-2006 before coming to any conclusions about KMG's staying power in OKC.

I think as long as Luke Corbett is running the show KMG will stay here, but we need to think long term. Icahn is destined to get the complete corporate board changed. If that were to happen, think of the changes that would occur in the corporate makeup of KMG.
When Luke Corbett leaves KMG or is let go, things could change.

I agree, dont count our eggs just yet, its a STRONG possibility they will leave after Corbett

I am very pleased with how loyal Corbett is to our city. But we very well may begin feeling the pressure from corporate relocations as Tulsa has.

Just wondering, where would Kerr McGee move?

Just wondering, where would Kerr McGee move?

That's pretty obvious.....Houston, where actually they have their larger buildings now, and where most of their drilling is done. To be real honest with you, I'm not sure why KMG stays in OKC. When the chemical division is sold off, all of their activity will be in the gulf.

That's pretty obvious.....Houston, where actually they have their larger buildings now, and where most of their drilling is done. To be real honest with you, I'm not sure why KMG stays in OKC. When the chemical division is sold off, all of their activity will be in the gulf.

Lower cost of living (by far) in Oklahoma City means lower wages and salaries for employees, hence the reason the company stays. That and the fact that they own the building they are currently in. Also, it would be difficult to find someone to buy McGee Tower (actually, the whole block is owned by KMG, so even harder to sell it all off) and I don't think renting out space piece-meal would be a viable option from the company's point of view. That doesn't mean they won't leave. If there are too few employees still in OKC to justify the maintenance expense and property taxes, they'll dump it however they can and move to Houston. Basically, whichever is more cost effective they will do.

This is all assuming post-Corbett, keep in mind.

Edit: They also own the office space they occupy in Houston, but it's crowded as it is, so they would have to find alternative office space if they moved every remaining OKC employee down to Houston, or replaced them with new employees in Houston.

Actually there are fewer than 1000 employees left in OKC. That number continues to dwindle from month to month as they hire more in Houston and outsource various departments.

BTW, they lease much of the property they own at the complex downtown. Also several floors in the tower remain empty.

There are around 90 employees left at the Chemicals R&D center up on 150th and I believe there are no more than 350 people, maybe 400 at the downtown tower. Obviously when the chemical spinoff/sale/whatever happens the 90 R&D employees will no longer be part of Kerr. As far as the tower, the majority of those people support the Chemicals Division in one way or another. All that's down there is HR, computer support, Safety, and chemical sales and other chemical support staff. As soon as Chemicals is separated, there will probably only be 100 employees left downtown.

I've actually heard a rumor that Devon is interested in McGee Tower and has approached KMG with an offer to swap buildings. Apparently Devon has expanded beyond the space available in its current building and could use the extra office space. This is, of course, purely speculation, but it would make sense for both companies after the spin-off/sale of Chemical and resulting decrease in KMG OKC employees.

I've actually heard a rumor that Devon is interested in McGee Tower and has approached KMG with an offer to swap buildings. Apparently Devon has expanded beyond the space available in its current building and could use the extra office space. This is, of course, purely speculation, but it would make sense for both companies after the spin-off/sale of Chemical and resulting decrease in KMG OKC employees.

Devon is actually leasing more space in Chase Tower than they currently own in their own tower, if you can believe that, so I wouldn't be surprised if Devon is pursuing KMG Tower. At this point, it might be a better investment if KMG simply sells the building and leases space from Devon.


I thought KMG had fewer than 500 employees in their tower downtown...I just didn't want to go to far without knowing all of my facts for sure.

My mother actually worked in their accounts payable department for many years before she was downsized when they outsourced that department.

Sad day for KMG, but I'm glad to see Devon doing well.

According to the current KMG phone books there are between 852 and 906 employees in Oklahoma City.

Just checked and you are correct, there are 836 listed downtown employees but approximately 350 of those are contracters. Most of who are probably temporary consultants at best working on various projects. Looks like around 85-90 at the Technical Center. So it appears that there are roughly 580 OKC actual employees in OKC.

Losing KMG wouldn't be a huge loss to the local economy, that's pretty obvious from the job numbers. But, I guess losing them would be a huge loss to the community in general. They do give a lot of money to non-profits throughout the city. And they are an Oklahoma-grown corporation...it's always sad to see us lose those.

while this is true, KM is not gone.

They are still in OKC, they are still in their skyscraper downtown. So, lets enjoy them and not push them out the door.

Losing KMG wouldn't be a huge loss to the local economy, that's pretty obvious from the job numbers. But, I guess losing them would be a huge loss to the community in general. They do give a lot of money to non-profits throughout the city. And they are an Oklahoma-grown corporation...it's always sad to see us lose those.

Isn't Wal Mart Oklahoma-grown? :fighting2

Isn't Wal Mart Oklahoma-grown? :fighting2

Technically, yes. Sam Walton was an Oklahoman. Plus Oklahoma City is their main test market.

Now. Please keep this about Kerr McGee. Thank you.

It is not about Kerr McGee exclusively. You oubviously just want to troll me, but I will tell you what I feel it is about anyway:

The topic has become about a home-grown Oklahoma company staying put in OKC, where they came close to moving to another city.