Thread regarding Chevron Phillips Chemical layoffs

Favoritism, hiring employees who are unqualified into architectural positions, too much deadwood, decay in culture, too much reliance on contractors and not prioritizing employees growth. So many things that lead to this. At the end of the day, IT is still a cost center for businesses and to save few cents here and there they will go for these layoffs.
My suggestion, don't get too attached for an employer. Its still a transactional relationship in corporate America.

@1pg "Trim the groups in future innovation until markets take off. The plant can run fine without them."

PBD didn't deliver what we hoped but the future innovators are often the same people who fix the problems of today. So which future innovators would you cut? BRTC? KRTC? BT at HQ?

@1sa heavily financed but GTPP is 51% CPCHEM. When such a project goes 1 billion dollars over budget its real money. Shell built a project in PA recently that was similar to GTPP. Their estimat was $6.5 billion, the final price? https://ieefa.org/resources/shell-acknowledges-14-billion-price-tag-petrochemical-plant-more-double-street-estimates.

GTPP a little over budget combined with low resin pricing quickly puts CPCHEM in a bind.

You can say you don't think we are losing money and I hope you are right. We will see when P66 reports in a few weeks.

I really don't believe this company is losing money, the margins are low as expected across the industry and the world issues. But it's all about the margins and the people making the decisions . At this point , Money and bottom line is the main factors and suddenly a successful 25 years old culture converted to numbers. The GTP and RLPP are heavily financed by a foreign rich country. I wonder how they feel about that and their future partnership with incompetent CP leadership.

I think the people should listen to the complaints on here. Clearly management thought that some of these decisions were a good one when they weren't. I see a lot of comments about a pickleball court. It makes me wonder why they even have one. What are they doing that allows them to have that much time to play such games? The company Clearly has lost its original purpose and got starry-eyed with frills and extra curricular activities that has nothing to do with making money. The people who are getting let go have a right to be mad. When you are the one making the decisions that led to wasteful spending and job loss they look at the leaders. They look at what they've done or haven't done. The proof is in the numbers and it's the little guy, the worker that suffers. It's a tale as old as time. They won't see the talent that they are losing and they won't think about how much more it will cost them in the long run. A good leader listens to their workers. Why? They understand the business. They understand what's going on. There is a clear disconnect between management and its workers. I wish everyone the best. It's sad that this is happening.

Food for thought. When markets are tough and it’s time to tighten our belt. Look to keep employees that are valuable in reliability/production/maintenance. Those groups can run those plants for years to come.
Money blown to dominance (PBD) money saving research is a waste as well as hiring a dozen gram students 2 times a month while leadership lays off working contractors and employees doesn’t make sense to 90% of your employees.

Believe me they notice. Trim the groups in future innovation until markets take off. The plant can run fine without them. Throwing money at losing money never solves the problem. Paying millions to save hundreds of thousands is obviously not a good idea.

I promised myself I was not going to comment, but I am taking back by so many ungrateful people’s comments. In today’s fast-paced and highly connected world, it’s easy for misunderstandings and negative narratives to spread quickly. While no company is perfect, it’s important to recognize the full picture before passing judgment. Chevron Phillips has consistently demonstrated a commitment to its core values e.g., customer service, innovation, community support and much more, and has made meaningful contributions to the industry and community. Criticism can be valuable when it’s constructive, but it should also be fair and informed. Many of the claims being circulated overlook the positive impact Chevron Phillips has had and the steps it continues to take to improve. Let’s not forget the hard work of the people behind the brand who strive every day to do better and serve their customers with integrity." I also want to take a moment to express my strong support for our CIO. Leadership is never easy—especially in times of change or challenge, and it takes courage, vision, and resilience to guide a team through it all. Our CIO has consistently demonstrated these qualities, making tough decisions with integrity and always keeping the employees/contractors and organizations best interests at heart. It’s easy to criticize from the sidelines, but those who work closely with our CIO know the dedication, intelligence, and care our CIO brings to the role every day. Our CIO listens, leads, and delivers. Let’s remember to uplift our leaders when they’re working hard to move us forward, not tear them down." I was very disappointed to read these remarks. I’m incredibly grateful to Chevron Phillps for taking a chance on me. When they offered me an opportunity, they didn’t just give me a job—they gave me a path to a better life. Their belief in my potential has empowered me to grow, learn, and contribute in ways I never imagined possible. I’m proud to be part of a team that values people, invests in growth, and creates real opportunities. Thank you CPChem for believing in me, and whatever the outcome, I will not take it for granted. Chevron Phillips is and will always be the best company I have ever worked for. For everyone making these smug remarks, It’s important to remember that making quick accusations without knowing the full story can do real harm to people, to reputations, and trust. We all have a responsibility to seek understanding before passing judgment. Taking a moment to ask questions, gather facts, and consider different perspectives isn’t just fair it’s the foundation of respectful and constructive dialogue. Let’s lead with empathy, not assumptions." And for all those who posted negative remarks on this site that work or CPChem, I only have one thing to say. If you think this way, then be courageous and have the guts to quit, so maybe that will leave an opportunity for someone like me to continue working for this GREAT company. Say what you will about my comment because anyone that posts negativity/half-truths on these boards are telephone tough guys. Well, that’s what we called cowards and bullies growing up. For those who truly care and work hard each and every day because, have passion, integrity, character, faith just know and believe that whichever door God may close he will open a gate. Have a blessed day

@1fy have they considered doing away with their HQ and just have them all work from home? That would save them a lot of money. If they have enough empty space maybe they can rent out some of their rooms to make extra cash. Another way to make money is if they have a parking garage they can start charging people to use it. Do they have a gym? Charge gym membership fees. If you have windows try using natural light and save on utilities. Every penny counts!

Stop paying millions to consultants and put more energy and support to the employees that do the work every day that keeps this company running. Nothing against progress but it's not always better. Listening can go a long way if you just listen to the right people.

CPC is a good company, we have our issues, but they have been great. It's the petrochemical industry thats struggling. IMO our LT team has been as transparent as possible and doing a good job.

@1db I was thinking management was on here downvoting comments or upvoting “bootlickers” but you’re probably right right- it’s HR- but it’s very apparent that’s what is happening

@1cn oh look, you got HR to help downvote/upvote for you

@1cn Wow you must work at the Woodlands. How's that pickleball court? What does boot leather taste like?

I find many of the comments about this announcement to be absurd. Quick Google search on Phillips 66 and Chevron (OWNERS of Chevron Phillips Chemical) and what decisions they have made in 2025 concerning layoffs. Paired with a high-level review of news updates on the current economic environment in our industry, should make leadership decisions clear. Blaming one individual or the leadership team at Chevron Phillips directly is very disappointing and, frankly, below the caliber of people I thought I worked with. Our leadership team does not get to override the directives of our owners or the state of our current economic environment

Appears to me that your CIO referenced here is the one that wrote the story and the first comment to justify his actions by blaming everything else (market, decisions of the leadership, board) and make himself look or feel less guilty...

@14m regardless of who belongs to what acronym, they’re both bad for CPC and the future.

@12w many, many moons ago CEOs didn't make as much as they do now. They should look at how much they are paying these people to make these bad decisions. Cut from the top. How many managers do you need managing another manager?

@14m that's not really necessary. Maybe look in the mirror before you call names.

You mo--ns.

BCG is Boston Consulting Group. Bain & Company is simply Bain.

@12e this is exactly what I knew was going to happen- they can’t differentiate between people that do nothing and the ones that actually do their jobs! So we end up stuck with people that are worthless and let the ones that actually work leave!

GTPP cutting project contractors.. The site staffed up two years too early, all on the project budget, so they're looking to cut anyone and everything they can.

@11w. I Agree that the lagging performers need to go but the problem is CPChem is too scared to actually differentiate between it's studs and duds. They throw everyone in the "meets expectations" bucket even though 20% of the organization needs to be PIP'd. They've let the slugs stay around and leach off the CPChem teet.

@10g every time we pay these clowns to come in and tell us what we already know, I wonder how asking(paying) them for “advice” fits into tenet 10. The hypocrisy is astounding

@101 this is a bit of an contradictory statement. Digital Process Optimization was originally part of, you know, optimizing our loops and cr--kers. People need to stop pointing to new HQ and DT as the reason we’re in this situation. Everyone in our peer group is struggling right now.

There is an oversupply of PE and this year and next are going to be the lowest of lows in the current business cycle.

I, like many others on this thread, don’t agree with the strategy we took in BT to get to this point. We have great initiatives that were fully developed, but we lacked senior leadership forcing the frozen mid-level managers engage with project managers.

I believe our CIO said it at least a dozen times over the past 18 months that we need to be innovative and add value to the company. Well, quite a few of us were trying to do that but had ZERO support during that timeframe. It’s unfortunate.

Whatever the outcome of my employment, I am grateful for all the new skills I developed during my tenure with the company. Credit to CPC for giving me those opportunities.

Time to cut the “lagging performers”.

@c6 BCG su-ks and has done more damage to CPChem than anyone or anything else.

So a few years ago we gave BCG millions of dollars to come in and tell us we needed to centralize and create more management levels to reduce the number of direct reports higher managers have. Now CPC is paying them millions for them to push "span & layer" because we have too many management layers. Here's an idea for saving millions - stop hiring BCG and other consultants and just focus on safe & reliable operations. Get back to the basics.

Digital transformation was a black hole of money, we make plastic and should have stuck with optimization and simplicity . Too many lagging performers in our organization and instead of removing them leadership either promotes or moves them. I hate to say it but we are overdue for some house keeping

How do we dig into McKenzie and Bain to figure out which member(s) of the c-suite keep getting paid to have these clowns continue to examine our businesses, tell us what we already know and build stellar slide shows with CPC-known facts and research we already did and gave to them? Both, McKenzie and Bain, have been found guilty of fraud or tied to a scandal in some form or another, yet we continue to pay them millions while our own colleagues, friends, etc will be walked out the door and kicked to the curb. R.I.P. CPC.

Not surprised. It was painfully obvious that CPChems caring moto was BS when they made an employee undergoing cancer treatment repay 13,000 dollars of their own mistake.
After seeing that, it was clear that nothing is too low for this company.

@vk as someone with a few of the service awards on their desk, i agree. Something changed after covid/wfh. Can't say if for the better or worse. Maybe we need a little housecleaning but I would rather see it through the lagging rating instead of layoffs.

@tw absolutely it’s a different company than it was 10 years ago and not for the better - it’s a shame

@va true about paying the piper. PBD was a joke. We should have doubled down on bets in class reliability and up time and it would have paid for itself many times over.

@tw if you follow Chevron and Phillps 66 layoff boards you will see we are following in our owners footsteps albeit we are lagging. The building is unfortunate but was decided upon when we were distributing cash to the owners. We grew a bit too fast in people and assets over the last 4 years and now the piper has to be paid...

I feel like as a company we are losing our way. This feels like a very different company than it did 5 or especially 10 years ago. Too much of our upper management is trying to leave a mark and change CPChem. Many of whom are so new, that they never even knew the CPChem culture before they started changing it. That is what drove the company to the current position we are in. The CPChem we had was pretty damn good. It seems like good talent keeps walking out the door and I don't see that ending any time soon. I use to say the CPChem culture was our biggest selling point. I am not sure I can say that today.

I wonder how many employees are going to want to go celebrate a new building built for someone else?

Save the date reminder!
Please join our leaders for a celebration of 25 years of
Performance by Design and Caring by Choice.
New HQ Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

@ps She's already the CEO...or will be very soon. SUPRISE!

Does anyone remember when CPChem made plastic, and did so very very well? Now they just make bad decisions. RIP.

This is disappointing news as cpchem was in the top of its peer group last year and although it is not hitting its (questionable) financial targets in the short term, it is still a very profitable company.

You would think being a privately held company we would be more immune from slowdowns in the short term as we don’t have stock price/activist investor buyout risk.

@jw please give more details on this. I find it troubling that in times like these a company went out and spent massive amounts of money on a building they hardly use. It leaves the employees to wonder if there is any actual work going on or if they are just lounging about sipping on fine coffee, tea, and crumpets? There is a disturbing trend of no accountability for those who make these decisions, which leads to layoffs that are happening now. Remember, you are just a number. You aren't special.

DEI at its finest