Thread regarding ExxonMobil Corp. layoffs

EM management is odd. It's difficult to see how employees can be happy working there.

Good representation of the bullies in leadership with ExxonMobil and why the rest of the world should not want to do business with you.

How pathetic are people that come to a lay-off board to make fun of people laid off? What goes around comes around.

@OP+18RnJSK2 Thanks for telling it like it is!!

@1foj+18RnJSK2

Only NSI believe that it's over. Lol. Which is ironic, because they are the ones to be let go!! Hahaha.

Can’t wait to see you back here since your ignorant enough to believe it’s over.

Wow. So many downvotes for truthful comments. Not only is this company full of hypocrites, it's also full of id–ts that live in a fantasy bubble. ❄️

No wonder this company got rid of so many poor performers this last PADP cycle.

OP, maybe you need to find a more nurturing career. You won't find it in oil industry, especially in the present shrinking environment. As a engineer (BSME), I worked in industry from 1980 to 2016, a period with significant booms and busts. I did make a career out of it, and finally retired financially independent, but to do so I had to hustle for work...working for several companies including Getty, Amoco, BP, ExxomMobil (retired). All had issues and all had had silly initiatives like Continuous Improvement, Drilling In the 90's, Paper Reduction Act, Act Kindly Today, Casual Fridays... After Oxy's Piper Alpha (1988) it got really nuts with this stuff. But, I always s—ed up and played along until I got a better offer.

Keep your technical/operational skills sharp, always keep your eyes open for the next job and pray for a bit of good luck.

Advise from an old man who's been there and made it out alive, with a few bumps and bruises, but in relatively good shape :)

No offense intended.

Good luck to you!!

On the debate on “what’s the difference between ‘lay-off’ Vs ‘retrenchment’, here are some of the differences: ( my opinion, some may not agree but please do not condemn me)

1. The first is, there is no severance pay-out (this matters for the lower salaried employees much less for the highly salaried ones). It also gives the affected person more time to find a new job, especially in the current environment. This is an industry practice which is expected by employees, at least in the Far East. The Co is perceived to be trying to avoid paying the “severance” pay.
2. The ‘stigma’ that goes with ‘lay-off’, especially with the Company’s publicised ‘Performance-based’ criteria. The industry is watching and it will be more difficult for the affected to find a job. Even if one is laid off as part of a ‘retrenchment’ exercise, there is still a stigma as usually, the poorer performers are let-go first. Some industry hirers would consider this an ‘opportunity’ to hire ‘good’ employees (EM is considered a good company of hiring better employees and provided them with trainings and different opportunities for their ‘career’ advancement. Many (if not all, before this kicked in) of the employees poached by other Companies have done very well outside. Some may not agree but, at least this is the perception in the Far East where EM-trained employees are sought after for their Technical and Management skill.
3. Retrenchment is generally associated with Company in trouble and laid-off employees are ‘generally’ viewed as ‘not’ their fault and their skill and personal attributes are not that bad Vs labeled as ‘ Poor Performers’ as in this case.

I am only trying to express my opinion and I do not mean to say who is right or wrong and I hope this thread will help the Company and some of our colleagues ‘see’ why there is so much ‘anger’. It’s sad to pour anger on each other, we are much better than this. Thank you for reading and understanding. The ‘anger’ is not good for our mental health too. I agree that the Company could have handled this much better (even though some may still harbour the ‘anger’ if they are retrenched.). Take care.

Op, you seem upset. Settle down. You are safe. Since I am not in elementary school, I won’t use anatomical references. Just can’t help yourself with those 4 letter words can you? Such maturity! The future workplace has nothing to do with culture. It is an economic reality. Companies no longer need to provide large benefits packages to hire and retain workers. This is happening now (company matches, pensions) and will soon include reduced or eliminated medical benefits, etc. if you are not smart enough to see this, that’s ok by me. Public companies will always require “a select few employees” for governance purposes, but the vast majority of workers will essentially look much like contractors in terms of wages, benefits and job tenure.

I seriously don’t consider your other key issues, such as workplace attire and charity events, to be worthy of any comments. If not getting to “wear jeans to work” is a major issue for you, well, that about sums up your life priorities for everyone.

I never defended the EM culture. It stinks now just as it has for the past 40 years or longer. I simply pointed out regardless of what it was called, EM’s PiP or layoff was reasonably generous for those separated from the company. Of course you would have preferred that EM call it a layoff and discharge people with no warning and no transition time. I am not that heartless like you.

Enjoy your new job. I hope you get to wear jeans every day, as that is really what life is all about! We will miss your valuable contributions.

OP here.

@qte+18RnJSK2
Don't worry. I already did leave on my own. As for your comment, why got all worked up. I simply stated the facts. I was neither bitter nor trolling. B*tt hurt?

@ogr+18RnJSK2
Not sure what your argument is about or how it's related to my post. I did not criticize the layoff. I, however, stated "how the layoff was done." On top of that, the layoff was just among one of the hypocrisies I mentioned but you seem only interested in talking about laying off and firing. Too happy that you survived the rounds?

By the way, your last comment shows exactly how hypocrite, manipulative, and toxic the culture at XOM is: "All but a select few will be a workplace commodity. Better adjust your mindset now."
Look around and count how many companies, both big & small, are changing "their company culture" to adapt to the modern world. In contrast, here you are telling employees to change their mindset to adapt to XOM's 100 year-old culture? If I understand your statement correctly, XOM employees, regardless what generation they are from or whether they are in their 20's or 40's, should all think and behave the same as those who have grown from that toxic culture? What a load of rubbish!

Exactly! Op sums it up very well!!

@ogr+18RnJSK2

Not sure why so many people down vote you for speaking the truth. No wonder so many people were shocked by the layoffs, the people in this company live in their own little bubble.

@1lht+18RnJSK2

“ Um yes people that get laid off usually get severance.”

Um, no, very few people that get laid off get a severance. Yes, it is a common white collar job perk, but the avg worker in this country does not enjoy this luxury. If let go, they simply leave the workplace at the end of the day with an empty lunchbox and nothing coming in after that day to pay the bills.

Obviously you didn’t grow up in a blue collar household. Much of what people take for granted and even complain about on this site are luxuries that only exist in the ivory towers.

Do you have BBC no understanding of the lowlife it takes to publicly shame your employees in One of the worse economies in history and destroy their careers because you didn’t really want to call it a “layoff”? Yet you gave yourselves huge stock bonuses in the same year. You disgust me.

Um yes people that get laid off usually get severance.

Now complaining about the hand sanitizer used at the office? Are the lettuce and tomatoes at the cafeteria fresh enough?

Yes you are indeed the workforce of the future. Diapers for all.

If EM had just come out one day and fired people whose names were on a list like used to happen, employees would cry that they weren’t given a chance to show they can improve.

Instead, EM offered PiP which some successfully completed, while others did not. Either way, salaries and benefits continued for at least 90 days even if the employee did absolutely nothing.

And yet you still complain? Even if it was rigged, people still got a few months extra pay and benefits. Would you rather EM call it a layoff and deliver boxes to your door one morning with no notice? Would that “purity” of message offer you some comfort?

You would complain no matter. I am sorry people lost their jobs, but at least they got salary, benefits and time to make a transition. A lot of people just come to work one day and go home the same day with no job. I am sure they would have preferred several months to transition, no matter what it was called.

The company has openly lied to the public multiple times. The ceo has lied to the entire corporation multiple times. Ethics has gone out of the window with ExxonMobil. Other companies laid off and were honest about it. Exxon’s management is manipulative. This is how they have got by for years but it’s getting harder and harder to conceal those lies in the Information Age.

Hypocrisy is endlessly complaining about a company you call inept and corrupt, yet complaining because they can’t give you a job for life.

Name one oil company that did not have layoffs last year. You can’t.
Name one company that doesn’t enforce their workplace rules, including safety. You can’t.
Name one company in any industry that can survive a 60% loss in value over 6 months and not take dramatic steps to survive. If anything, EM has not done enough yet.

Instead of walking in your office unexpectedly one day and saying you are fired, in the worst case PiP gave you over 90 days to prepare for a new job elsewhere. You were naive if you couldn’t see what was coming. I have seen countless people over the years let go with no warning whatsoever.

If EM can survive this downturn with only a 15% headcount reduction, that will be a surprise. In part, they become so over staffed because they did not lay off people every year, at least the bottom 5%. In reality, 15% is a very low number given the severity of the downturn.

Why anyone that needs a lifetime job security blanket would choose a career path in an industry that is defined by booms and busts for over 100 years makes no sense. Any kind of research would have shown that clearly. Even the thought of a job for life disappeared over 30 years ago. Due diligence is your responsibility. Recruiters always paint a rosy picture. So do used car salesmen. Is this a surprise to you?

Society is changing dramatically, and industries will follow. Soon there will be no difference between employees and contractors. All but a select few will be a workplace commodity. Better adjust your mindset now.

How about the ELP course.

I could list a whole bunch of reasons why it is a waste of time, here are a few gems.

• it doesn’t work, take a look at management
• some people are asked to attend just to fill the course quota. Knew a guy in his sixties who attended.
• biggest complaint by attendees is the middle layer of management and how it needs to change. See item #1

Your post popped some trivial yet interesting questions in my head.

1. I wonder if the person that ordered the cut rate fake hand sanitizer lost their job during the layoff?

2. I wonder how much UW money was lost in the layoff? They aren’t getting mine. I purposefully waited to pay it until I saw the outcome of the layoffs, in case I needed it myself.

Petty simply. ... just go get another job. All this BS going in EM, it's called 'life' and life can be unfair; not everyone gets a prize. Just move on. EM is not for you.

Somewhere along the road, the Company has veered into this “culture”. Will need a drastic change to re-set the Company in the right path and return it to its glorious old days when XOM is the No.1 Company and everyone want to join the Company and for those already inside, is extremely proud to be one.

When one work for an organisation, he/she need to have job security so that he/she can commit to buy his/her own home, start his/own family. Imagine one who is committed financially loses his job, what is going to happen! EM was a very ‘trusted’ Company to work for then. We were told that “In good times, the Company do not give out bonuses and in bad times, the Company do not lay-off employees “. This was the “assurance” that the employees allude and put all our heart in working to make the Company great then.

Even though, I have been laid off in this exercise this time, I hope and wish the Company can re-examine and correct the culture and gain back the trust from the employees. It will be tough and a long road ahead but I still believe EM can do it. No one can put their hearts into their work and worry about (“financially “) whether they become the next one.