NEW YORK (AFP) - Oil services company Schlumberger Thursday said it was firing 9,000 workers due to plunging oil prices that have forced petroleum companies to cut drilling budgets.

Schlumberger disclosed the job cuts as it reported sharply lower fourth-quarter earnings in the wake of a more than 50 per cent fall in oil prices since June.

The job cuts account for about 7.5 per cent of Schlumberger's global workforce.