XOM Plans European Job Cuts

ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) has revealed that it is planning to reduce staffing levels across several of its European affiliates as part of an extensive global review.

The company anticipates that up to 1,600 positions will be impacted by the end of 2021 across its affiliates in the region. Country-specific impacts will depend on the company’s local business footprint and market conditions, ExxonMobil noted.

The proposed changes are subject to local information and consultation processes as applicable in each country and result from insight gained through reorganizations and work-process changes made over the past several years to improve efficiency and reduce costs, ExxonMobil stated.

“Europe remains an important market for ExxonMobil, as evidenced by recent major investments,” ExxonMobil said in a company statement posted on its website. 

“However, significant actions are needed at this time to improve cost competitiveness and ensure the company manages through these unprecedented market conditions,” ExxonMobil added.

ExxonMobil is just one of several oil and gas majors revealing job cuts this year. In June, BP plc announced that it plans to cut nearly 10,000 jobs, with most affected individuals leaving the company by the end of 2020, and Royal Dutch Shell plc revealed last month that it expects to make between 7,000 and 9,000 job cuts by the end of 2022. Back in May, Chevron also outlined that it was planning a 10 percent to 15 percent reduction in its global workforce this year.

According to its latest 10-K form, the number of ExxonMobil’s regular employees was 74,900 in 2019, 71,000 in 2018 and 69,600 in 2017. Regular employees are defined as active executive, management, professional, technical and wage employees who work full time or part time for the corporation and are covered by the corporation’s benefit plans and programs.

The company has been helping to meet European energy demand for over 135 years and has significant business interests in the region, ExxonMobil’s website highlights. ExxonMobil’s EMEA headquarters are based in Brussels, Belgium, and the business also has locations in Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Sweden, Turkey and the United Kingdom, according to its website.

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