Exxon was a cautious, serious company, dedicated to long term employees. Sure, a__l retentive at times, but processes, safety and integrity were non-negotiable and most people, technical and management, were not monkeys. Over time, with the influence of the more entrepreneurial Mobil, we embraced moral relativism, everything became fit-for-purpose, processes were allowed to atrophy if not straight thrown out the window, and the h-mobil buddy system flourished, especially in the downstream. Guess what? We have now become Mobil, losing money, sad in upstream, can't even run our own refineries -trailing in Solomon that we once ruled, and thriving in PowerPoint engineering and related bee ess. No wonder the new hires feel they were given the ol'bait'n'switch: we have to be fit for purpose I guess.... But I don't feel sorry for them - they should know better than join an avowed fossil fuel company and onetime climate denier, with no strategy for a post fossil fuel world, who even now all they do is rearrange the chairs on the Titanic. We stopped hiring the best and the brightest decades ago- now we only hire the people who will come to work for us - typically from large southern and midwestern schools of average ranking - not that there's anything wrong with that. They should be grateful they are getting out early: it's going to get uglier and uglier.
12 replies (most recent on top)
Why would anybody expect a company to be the same as it was 25 years ago? roll with the changes or get rolled over. JTTM: Just Take The Money.
Exxon needs to get rid of middle management who shuffle PPTs and utter LPSAs, JLAs, and Assess Analyze and ACT mantras. They have little insights into the process or controls, and how to make money in Chemical Plants/Refineries. They have expensive free lunches and golf games to stroke their ego. They talk gibberish and make silly statements with a stern look, and attend Leadership Conferences at prime locations with company paid expenses. These id–ts are leading Exxon! It is time to clean the house and fire them all. Not a penny will be lost in profitability of Exxon in fact it will increase it with less overhead less stock buyback to feed stock options.
The situation now is absolutely not due to being influenced by Mobil culture. As a Mobil employee at the time of the merger very little process, culture, etc from Mobil was adopted by Exxon. I joke the only thing Exxon adopted from Mobil was Lotus Notes. Or the other joke the new company is ExxonMobil, pronounced "Exxon", the Mobil is "silent". Mobil had to nearly 100% assimilate to Exxon culture and processes, and fast.
over 60% of employees are now "heritage ExxonMobil" ...hired after the merger. The culture is a blended Exxon and Mobil culture but dominated by former Exxon because 70% of the total at merger were former Exxon. The problems today are low prices and investing in too many "bad" projects. Need to focus and cut costs and get rid of bad assets and bad people. Back to Basics...High grade the people and the asset base.
Except the Clinton foundation wasn’t shut down, which proves you’re just a dumb Trumpster conspiracy theorist. Whereas Trumps charity was LEGALLY PROHIBITED FROM CONTINUING, and Trump is no longer allowed to run ANY charity.
Mobil and its corporate culture did not cause this issue!! I can tell you for a fact that all the things that Mobil did well were dismissed by the merged company very quickly. The leaders at the top of this organization have been 70% Exxon since the time of the merger and at the very top it has been even a higher %. And, at the time of the merger, Mobil was #1 in Marketing and Refining, Exxon was #1 in Upstream and Chemicals. So, what really changed to cause where we are today? I would venture to say it is an organization that has not made sound decisions over the last several years (XTO, late to the Permian, Russia, etc.) . Maybe you should do some research before venting without facts.
Be like president Trump?!? Lollllllzz you fool. You’re either extremely gullible or don’t know what the word grift means. Clown.
Great no one cares. You were paid a competitive salary compared to other engineers working in similar positions in low tier companies.
Only one responsible for the fall of Exxon is us! But there ain’t anything you and I can do about it. So continue to do smart work that makes you look good and remember, Exxon does not need to be in a good shape for you and I to be in the safe zone. Adios amigos! I’m wondering what I should buy with the dividends.
Not the company I joined back then either. They no longer value those of us who have dedicated years of service. It was unheard of for someone to abruptly be terminated for "performance" without there having been a history of poor performance. And bottom 3rd was not really considered bad performance, that was considered decent, not terrible performance for someone in their 40's and 50's. I feel really bad for those in their 40's and 50's (not retirement eligible) who will lose medical coverage immediately
and their pension options will be significantly impacted.
Companies must change overtime. Look at: Sears, Circuit City, KMart.
Where are they now?
They are gone. They failed to adjust and change.
This is the hilariously id–tic. Blaming Mobil for the failure? Cr*p, the upstream opportunities brought in by Mobil supported EMDC for 20 years. Plus have you heard the brand “MOBIL 1”? How much money does that make? The good old boys of Exxon have been patting each others’ back congratulating each other playing politics under the name of “process” and driving the company to the ground.