Amidst the drop in demand and pandemic-induced crisis, Exxon Mobil is planning to let go one fourth of its workforce in the US. This means, about 1,900 employees will be rendered jobless voluntarily or involuntarily. Earlier, the oil and gas company had announced its plans to slash about 1,600 jobs in Europe. A voluntary reduction programme had even begun in Australia. It is also considering shrinking its workforce in Canada. Globally, about 15 per cent of the workforce will be asked to leave, which means, almost 14,000 jobs will be cut, via restructuring, performance-based layoffs and retirements.
This round of cuts in the US will mainly impact the management offices in Houston.
At the end of last year, the Company had about 88,300 employees, which included 13,300 contractors as well.
The Company lost almost $1.7 billion in the first six months of this year, and its losses in the third quarter may touch about $1.9 billion.
The layoffs are part of the Company’s attempts to reorganise, reduce costs and improve efficiency. The move is expected to enhance the Company’s competitiveness in the longer run and help it tide over the current crisis.
Last week, BP had also revealed its plan to slash about 7,500 employees after about 2,500 employees opted for voluntary severance. The British oil major had announced in June that it would do away with almost 15 per cent of its 70,000-strong workforce as part of an exercise to reduce costs and ‘reinvent’.
