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(Bloomberg) -- APA Corp. cut about 300 employees globally as it becomes the latest oil producer to reduce costs by eliminating jobs.

The company formerly known as Apache made the reductions in January and late February, APA said in an emailed response to questions. It amounts to between 10% and 15% of the company’s workforce of more than 2,300 worldwide.

APA “has undertaken a comprehensive organizational review and is implementing changes to reduce its overall cost structure and ensure long-term competitiveness,” spokesperson Castlen Kennedy wrote. “While these decisions are difficult, we are working to support impacted employees.”

Lower crude prices, accelerating oilfield automation and uncertainty over future energy demand is driving a wave of job cuts among some of the world’s biggest energy companies, even as they pay billions to investors through dividends and share buybacks.

Chevron Corp. and BP Plc announced plans to let go as many as 13,700 employees combined earlier this year while Pioneer Natural Resources Co. and Marathon Oil Corp. recently cut jobs as a result of takeovers by larger rivals.

APA is the worst-performing energy stock in the S&P 500 over the past 12 months. With operations stretching from the US Permian Basin to Egypt, investors have been concerned APA is spread too thin geographically for a company of its size. In November, the company announced plans to shutter operations in the North Sea, and is targeting about $350 million in annual savings by the end of 2027.

More may be needed, according to John Freeman, an analyst at Raymond James.

“The magnitude and timing of cost savings were both disappointing relative to our prior expectations,” he wrote in a March 10 note to investors. “Given current oil price uncertainty, we feel it prudent to temper enthusiasm.”