ExxonMobil to lay off 1,900 US employees; mostly at Houston offices

HOUSTON: Global oil giant ExxonMobil has said it intends to reduce its US workforce by around 1,900 employees, with international staff reductions potentially rising to as much as 15 percent over the next year, as the COVID-19 pandemic batters energy demand and prices.

Earlier this month, the company announced reductions of 1,600 positions across its European affiliates.

As of 2019, the Irving-based company has employed about 74,900 workers.

The layoffs of 1,900 employees in the US will occur through "voluntary and involuntary programs", the company said in a press release on Thursday.

Exxon said the job cuts, part of a global reorganization, will come mainly from its Houston, Texas office.

The company cites the pandemic's impact on its businesses as the reason behind its move to "improve efficiency and reduce costs".

"The company recognizes these decisions will impact employees and their families and has put these programs in place only after comprehensive evaluation and thoughtful deliberation," the company said.

"Employees who are separated through involuntary programs will be provided with support, including severance and outplacement services," it said.

Exxon was once the largest US publicly-traded company but has been cutting costs due to a collapse in oil demand and ill-timed bets on new oilfields and expansions.

It has promised to shed more than USD 10 billion this year in project spending and cut operating expenses by 15 per cent. Just six years ago, Exxon opened a state-of-the-art campus in Spring, Texas, which houses four of its offshoot companies.

In addition, the company holds a Baytown complex, which it touts as one of the "largest integrated and most technologically advanced refining and petrochemical complexes in the world".