Weatherford International plc, which exited bankruptcy in December, is facing more turmoil as CEO Mark McCollum was forced out days ahead of the annual meeting.

The oilfield services giant, considered the fourth largest in the world, has for years been on a rollercoaster, in part from internal turmoil and exacerbated by volatile and at times devastatingly low oil and gas prices.

On Monday, McCollum, also president and director, was sent packing “immediately,” the company said, only four days before the annual meeting on Friday.

The former Halliburton Co. CFO was lured away in 2017 to take over the troubled company, which through some self-made missteps had suffered sharp financial losses in recent years.

Long-time CEO Bernard J. Duroc-Danner had resigned in late 2016 after a 30-year career, offering little explanation. Weatherford also paid a $140 million fine in late 2016 to settle financial fraud charges, which the Securities and Exchange Commission said related to inflated earnings begotten from using deceptive income tax accounting by two former senior accounting executives.

McCollum had promised the start of a “new chapter,” but despite his efforts to overhaul operations, Weatherford has continued to be mired in a mesh of low prices and falling revenue. In the first quarter conference call, the management team then led by McCollum said Covid-19 was leading to a likely “multi-year dislocation across the industry, with the quickest and deepest impacts in North America, followed by certain international markets such as Europe, Latin America and Sub Saharan Africa.”

The company, which has major operations headquartered in Houston, said it had more than doubled the cost savings initiatives that were underway coming into 2020, and it was continuing to adjust as market conditions require.

“We are implementing a combination of structural reductions, headcount and pay reductions, furloughs, facility closures, capital expenditure reductions, and have consolidated our geographic, product line and support organizations,” management said.

Weatherford had more than $905 million in available liquidity at the end of March, as neutral free cash flow was bolstered by a reduction in restricted cash. That said, “it is critical that we address our capital structure” in the current environment, management said.

In reaction to the plummet in demand, Weatherford reduced management compensation and board retainers by 20%. The North American headcount was reduced by 38%, with the global support staff down 25%. For remaining staff in the United States and some international locations, people were furloughed and pay was reduced. The company also has further consolidated geographic and product line structures to align with market conditions.

However, whether it manages to claw its way to safety or face a second bankruptcy in less than a year is uncertain. Weatherford management said in the first quarter call that it had adequate liquidity and was compliant with its financial covenants.

“However, the emerging operating environment has led to the inability to predict the depth and length of the industry’s weakness. In this backdrop, the company’s debt levels are too high. Management and the board of directors are evaluating options to improve liquidity and address the company’s long-term capital structure.”

With McCollum’s departure, COO Karl Blanchard and CFO Christian Garcia are forming an Office of the CEO, which is to report to the board and oversee day-to-day operations. The board also has initiated a search to find a permanent chief.

“Weatherford delivered materially improved performance this year until the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and actions by certain oil producing nations created unprecedented uncertainty in the energy and other markets,” Chair Thomas Bates Jr. said. “We will continue to focus our efforts on reducing costs and managing liquidity in the face of this challenging business environment.”

Blanchard and Garcia “have demonstrated that they have the experience and ability to assume these expanded responsibilities,” Bates said. “We are confident in their leadership of the company during this interim period as we conduct the search for a CEO.” He also thanked McCollum “for his contributions to Weatherford. We wish him the best.”

Blanchard previously was COO for Seventy Seven Energy Inc., spun off from Chesapeake Energy Corp. and eventually bought by Patterson-UTI Energy Inc.

Garcia joined Weatherford in January. He previously was CFO for Visteon Corp., an automotive cockpit electronics firm. He also is a previous CFO of Halliburton.