ExxonMobil, the largest U.S. oil producer, has announced plans to cut almost 2,000 jobs around the globe as it consolidates smaller offices into regional hubs as part of its restructuring plans.
The oil giant’s CEO, Darren Woods, distributed the company’s plans in a memo to employees on Sept. 30, ExxonMobil confirmed to The Epoch Times.
ExxonMobil, which is headquartered in Houston, told The Epoch Times in a statement that job cuts related to Imperial in Canada were already reflected in the global numbers reported on Sept. 30.
“We’ve seen the value of bringing people together in the same location,“ an ExxonMobil spokesperson said. ”It drives innovation, strengthens execution, enhances career development, and improves teamwork.
“Our global office network was established decades ago under very different circumstances. To support the collaboration so critical to our success, we are aligning our global footprint with our operating model and bringing our teams together.”
Oil producers are increasingly consolidating office locations to improve efficiency and cut costs amid weak oil prices.
Chevron, the second-largest U.S. oil producer, stated in February that it would lay off up to 20 percent of its global workforce and expand the use of international centers, including an engineering hub in Bengaluru (also known as Bangalore), India.
ConocoPhillips also stated earlier this month that it would cut 20 percent to 25 percent of its employees.
Benchmark Brent crude futures is down by 12.33 percent so far this year.
ExxonMobil’s regional hubs will zero in on the company’s growth patterns, including oil in Guyana, liquefied natural gas along the Gulf Coast, and global trading. On Sept. 22, ExxonMobil announced its final investment decision for the Hammerhead development offshore Guyana, after receiving required regulatory approvals. Hammerhead is the seventh project on the Stabroek block and is expected to come online in 2029.
The development will use a floating production storage and offloading vessel with the capacity to produce approximately 150,000 barrels of oil per day.
The $6.8 billion Hammerhead project will include 18 production and injection wells.
ExxonMobil reported nine functional companies operating independently from each other when Woods took over the reins as CEO in 2017. Today, the company has three main divisions: production, refining, and low-carbon. All three divisions now share services such as engineering, IT, and project management.
With those changes, ExxonMobil has been able to reduce annual costs by $13.5 billion since 2019, and it plans to increase that number by 30 percent by the decade’s end.
