Eighty Utahns are out of work after bankrupt oil refiner and travel-center owner Flying J eliminated 200 jobs and put its Texas refined products pipeline up for sale.

"We can regrettably confirm that due to further deterioration in the economy we have been forced to eliminate approximately 200 positions to better align our business with market demand," said a statement provided Wednesday by a spokesman.

The pipeline is owned by Longhorn Pipeline Holdings LLC, a subsidiary of Ogden-based Flying J that was part of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in December.

The pipeline carries 72,000 gallons of gasoline a day from the Gulf area near Houston to a Flying J storage facility in El Paso, Texas.

Flying J decided to offer the 700-mile pipeline for sale after determining it was no longer "core to its business," said spokesman Peter Hill in New York.

"From Flying J's standpoint, it is seeking to maximize value for its creditors and the Longhorn pipeline is a valuable asset," Hill said.

Flying J, its Longhorn pipeline and Big West refining subsidiaries filed for bankruptcy on Dec. 22 to fix a liquidity crisis brought on by the steep drop of oil prices and trouble getting credit. At the time, Flying J said it did not think it would be necessary to lay off any of its 16,000 employees in the U.S. and Canada, including 2,187 in Utah.

In a letter to employees this week, CEO Crystal Call Maggelet said the decision to alter its thinking was necessary if Flying J was to "change and adapt" to market conditions.

"We are working hard to create a viable, healthy business to take us all into the future, and unfortunately the process is sometimes painful," Maggelet said.

Flying J provided no information about the affected employees, other than to say the layoffs were scattered across its business units.

But a document filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware outlines a proposed severance package for hourly employees, salaried professionals, supervisors, managers and "directors and above."

In Utah, 30 hourly, 46 salaried professionals and four managers lost their jobs, said Flying J spokeswoman Virginia Parker.

If the court approves the package, hourly employees would get two weeks of pay and outplacement counseling. On the other end of the scale, directors would receive five weeks of pay, one week of pay for each year of service beyond one year and job counseling.

Maggelet became Flying J's CEO last month after long-time Chief Executive J. Phillip Adams, resigned suddenly. Maggelet, 44, is Flying J's chairman and daughter of founder Jay Call.

Flying J bought Houston-based Longhorn Pipeline in 2006. It isn't clear what the privately held company paid, but a court document indicates Flying J still owes $166 million on a note issued to buy the company.

Last month, another subsidiary, Big West of California, shut down its 70,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Bakersfield, Calif., saying it didn't have enough money to buy crude oil under terms offered by suppliers.

The disruption did not affect Flying J's refinery in North Salt Lake, which continues to operate normally.

At the time, Big West said it was evaluating its options for the Bakersfield refinery, but had not found a solution. On Wednesday, Hill said one of the options might be to sell the plant, which supplies 2 percent of California's gasoline and 6 percent of its diesel.

Flying J bought the refinery from Shell Oil Co. in 2005. At the time, neither company disclosed the price, but reports suggested it was close to $130 million.

Aegis Energy Advisors Corp. and The Blackstone Group were chosen to help Longhorn with the pipeline sale.