The plunge in oil will hurt these people most

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Slide 1 ofOil prices plunged around 50% from their June peak by the end of 2014, the fastest collapse since the dark days of 2008. This time around, supply is seen as the biggest culprit as the world deals with a glut of oil. Overall, the drop is seen as a boon for the U.S. economy and consumers as it translates into a virtual “tax cut.”

But, clearly, not everyone will benefit. The energy sector has, unsurprisingly, taken a big hit, as reflected by the 10.6% drop in 2014 posted by the Energy Sector Select SPDR ETF XLE,+0.47% XLE, +0.47% not to mention the 22.4% drop by the fracking-orientated Market Vectors Unconventional Oil & Gas ETF FRAK, +0.78%

Here’s a look at others who stand to lose out from the oil rout.

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Oil workers

While the U.S. jobs market has been gaining momentum, it looks like future gains will have to come without the aid of the oil patch.

Companies providing support services to oil and gas companies could lose around 40,000 jobs by the end of the year, around 9% of the total, Tom Runiewicz, an economist at IHS Global Insight, told The Wall Street Journal (subscription required). Equipment manufacturers could lose 5,000 to 6,000 jobs. While not a huge chunk of the U.S. labor picture, many of the jobs pay well, economists note.

Already, Civeo Corp. CVEO, -5.84%  , which provides temporary and long-term accommodation on oil projects, has slashed a key measure of earnings and suspended a dividend. Oil and natural-gas company Linn Energy LLC LINE,+12.04%  has cut its dividend and capital-spending plans.

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Some big investors

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn’s energy investments haven’t been a bright spot in 2014. Icahn Enterprises IEP, +0.59%  in November blamed losses in the sector for a third-quarter net loss. See: Carl Icahn’s biggest hits and misses of 2014.

Icahn isn’t alone. Hedge-fund titan John Paulson, who made a fortune betting on the housing collapse ahead of the financial crisis, saw one of his biggest losses of the year result from a gamble on big oil firms swooping into buy smaller ones, The Wall Street Journal reported on Dec. 18. Instead, some of Paulson’s smaller energy stockholdings got hammered as crude prices tanked. Paulson didn’t respond to the Journal’s requests for comment.

Meanwhile, Harold Hamm, the majority owner and boss of Continental Resources Inc. CLR, +1.12%  says the court order to pay his ex-wife nearly $1 billion in a divorce settlement is too much, in part because his wealth is so affected by the plunge in oil prices. Continental Resources helped pioneer North Dakota’s oil industry.

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Tesla

One auto maker that won’t be taking comfort from the drop in gas prices is luxury electric-car maker Tesla. MarketWatch columnist Brett Arends notes that sales of hybrid and electric vehicles have seen their share of the market fall from 4.1% to 3.2%, while trucks, vans and SUVs are at 55%—the highest since 2011. Read: Can Tesla survive collapsing oil prices?

It’s not necessarily all gloom and doom, however, since people rushing out to buy less fuel-efficient SUVs could sow the seeds of an oil price rebound.

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Vladimir Putin

The collapse in oil prices has made for a painful winter in Moscow. The drop was a devastating blow to an economy already hurting from sanctions by the U.S. and other Western powers in response to Russia’s annexation of the Crimea, triggering a plunge by the ruble.

U.S. President Barack Obama rubbed it in during an interview with National Public Radio, saying that the sanctions had left Russia’s economy vulnerable to “inevitable” disruptions in the oil price.

“Today, I’d sense that at least outside of Russia, maybe some people are thinking what Putin did wasn’t so smart,” Obama said.