Thread regarding ExxonMobil Corp. layoffs

@ovk+17JNjgDt

Well said!

If oil-price were to go back to $100/bbl next month, albeit magically, everything will be hunky-dory and the management will look spectacular!

The same meritorious people that were running the business with ~$40B/yr profits made the decision on XTO.

In the end, it’s all about the price of the commodity that makes one look good or bad. Rest of the talk about meritocracy is all fake!

Very little of the hiring went into the Growth ventures. Overhead grew instead. Need better management of overhead, like IT projects

The reason for hiring was the growth strategy and the mega ventures that have been communicated to employees and investors. Th growth of low cost centers has also contributed. Headcount growth plans were reviewed and approved. Many might have thought at the time that it was a wrong strategy but at least it was consistent with our message. One observation though is that the execution indeed it had a feeling of hiring panic. We seemed to be indiscriminate particularly towards experienced professionals. Anything shiny was hired. Not surprised that many recent hires were put in the NSI category and it was not their fault. As always, by the time the plan was executed and the results were assessed, managers have moved at least once so no accountability on the quality of these hiring classes.

@lcf+17JNjgDt

They were hired because they are the best at the time. They are let go because we found replacements that we believe will be better. That is the who basis of what the PIP program is for.

If the people laid off lack skills and value, then why were they hired?

The last two years they seemed to be on a hiring frenzy, I watched this was surprised and did not understood. I am not sure what part of the strategy required this much hiring, but did not work too well.

I wholeheartedly agree! I worked for Exxon for 28 years and finally got fed up and retired while an upper level operations manager - shortly before the Mobil merger. I got sick of the empire-building and other wasteful c-ap, like the Continuous Improvement Program (where they wasted a ton of money on “experts” who didn’t know beans about the oil business) and OIMS (Operations Integrity Management System) - a sad attempt by upper management to lay blame for anything bad that happened unto lower management levels. The whole outfit functioned like a government bureaucracy. I don’t own a single share of their stock.

Finally the truth - headcount problem is largely caused by bad strategy. But zero accountability from the leadership. Just need to lay off people because they lack skills and values! What are the skills and values of our executives?????