Exxon Mobil to eliminate 1,900 jobs, primarily in the Houston area - The Dallas Morning News

Irving-based Exxon Mobil Corp. will eliminate 1,900 jobs in its move to weather the energy industry’s worst downturn in recent memory.

The oil major said Thursday that most of the voluntary and involuntary cuts will occur in its management offices in the Houston area. Exxon leaders warned last week that job cuts were coming.

“These actions will improve the company’s long-term cost competitiveness and ensure the company manages through the current unprecedented market conditions,” Exxon said in a statement. “The impact of COVID-19 on the demand for ExxonMobil’s products has increased the urgency of the ongoing efficiency work.”

Chief Executive Officer Darren Woods, in a message to employees a week ago, said the company finds itself in “difficult times.”

“We are making tough decisions, some of which will result in friends and colleagues leaving the company,” he told staff in an email, the text of which was released by the company.

Exxon’s stock has plunged this year and the company has all but ended its aggressive, $30 billion-a-year counter-cyclical growth strategy. The company was forced to slash its capital spending budget by a third, or $10 billion, earlier this year.

Rivals such as BP Plc and Chevron Corp. have also announced large layoffs in recent weeks.

Exxon said it will provide severance and outplacement services to terminated employees.

Despite this year’s virus-driven oil crash, the company is maintaining the third-highest dividend in the S&P 500 Index, underscoring its historic commitment to the payout to shareholders.

Investors will be paid 87 cents a share for the current quarter, matching the level of the last six periods, the company said. The oil giant trails only Microsoft Corp. and AT&T Inc. among S&P 500 companies in payouts to shareholders over the past 12 months, according to Bloomberg data.

Exxon is now consistently funding its dividend with borrowed money for the first time in decades.

Executives pledged a “great commitment” to the dividend in July, and vowed to row back growth plans, capital spending and cut jobs to defend it. But investors aren’t yet convinced. The stock’s dividend yield has risen to more than 10% for most of the past five weeks.

Its stock price was up about 2% to $32.24 in morning trading Thursday.

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https://www.dallasnews.com/business/energy/2020/10/29/exxon-mobil-to-eliminate-1900-jobs-primarily-in-the-houston-area/

2020-10-29 15:47:32Z
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