During a meeting at the Marland Mansion Tuesday afternoon, employees of Smith Bits of Ponca City were told the company would be relocating its Ponca City facility to Houston by the end of 2017.

The information comes from a source who was present at the meeting.

The move will begin at the first of 2017, and is expected to last through most of the year. No word is available yet on how many employees are affected by the move.

City Manager Craig Stephenson said Tuesday afternoon he was sympathetic to the employees.

"I feel bad for those employees and  their families, and for the community at this announcement," Stephenson said. "These things are never pleasant or good to go through. I'm sure it is an oil economy decision."

Stephenson said city officials have not received any notification about the move, but under the Warn Act (The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act), a federal labor law, employers with 100 or more employees are required to provide a 60 calendar-day advance notification of plant closings or mass layoffs of employees. The notice must be given to the local chief elected official -- in Ponca City's case, Mayor Homer Nicholson. Nicholson was out of town Tuesday afternoon.

Smith Bits is a Schlumberger Company.