Exxon Oz Starts Voluntary Redundancy Program

ExxonMobil Australia announced Wednesday that it has commenced a voluntary redundancy program.

The program follows an extensive review of the company’s current and future project work, according to ExxonMobil Australia, which highlighted that staff who take part in the program will be asked to offer expressions of interest through this month.

The program is being offered to all employees in Melbourne, Gippsland, Sydney, Adelaide and Perth, according to the company. Workers who participate in the program will be provided with company support, including outplacement services, ExxonMobil Australia revealed.

“This program will ensure the company manages through these unprecedented market conditions,” ExxonMobil Australia said in a company statement posted on its website on Wednesday.

The ExxonMobil Australia group has been operating in Australia since 1895. It conducts several upstream operations, including the Gorgon development, which is described as the largest single resource project in Australia, as well as several downstream projects, such as the Altona refinery, which has been fueling Victoria since 1949.

ExxonMobil Corporation describes itself as one of the world’s largest publicly traded energy providers and chemical manufacturers. The company, which traces its roots back to 1859, had 74,900 regular employees at year-end 2019. This figure stood at 71,000 in 2018, 69,600 in 2017, 71,100 in 2016 and 73,500 in 2015, ExxonMobil’s latest Form-10K reveals.

ExxonMobil is not the first oil and gas major to offer a voluntary redundancy scheme this year. Back in May, Bloomberg reported that Royal Dutch Shell plc would use voluntary severance measures and in June it emerged that BP plc was also offering a volunteer redundancy program within plans to cut nearly 10,000 jobs.

Oil prices plummeted earlier this year amid the pandemic and a disagreement among OPEC+ members. They have since started recovering but are still down on price levels seen last year.

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