Thread regarding ExxonMobil Corp. layoffs

Any details available on the statement that VPs plan to PIP more going forward? Is there a % target increase coming for NSI category for 2021?

If you are young you should be running as fast as you can away from here. The pension is just a mirage. Most people get PIPd before they reach it. Even VPs are now saying they will PIP more aggressively going forward. Company will continue to shrink as jobs are moved to India making advancement opportunities more limited. Government policies will keep industry on life support and not profitable. Go where there are opportunities. This is not the place for a career or skills that will transfer. Pick your time to leave rather than being PIPd.

This is a classic post about Canadians feeling defeated by the Americans. However, I know many Canadians in Houston (who naturalized) and still think Canada is better.

Canadians are nice, but will always look after number 1 (themselves). Even if that means s—ing up to the American boss. Their lives are better for it (money and security) but they will always toe the company line to stay secure.

Op, many did either a long stint with Exxon or a split career with Mobil and ExxonMobil and held on to retirement with a nice 401k and a very good pension on top of that. If you can prioritize work for what it is meant to be, most did ok. EM in particular was a rough ride, no fun and very little personal satisfaction or sense of achievement. But, excellent pay and benefits, with lots of opportunity for advancement if you were willing to chase it.

If this was the final score, they all would have lost miserably in life. But, EM was just a means to an end. It was a nice fat paycheck that allowed them to have job security because they did excellent work and were highly skilled, and then enjoy happiness with their families, and that was the ultimate goal of many boomers. Take care of home first, everything else second, and themselves last.

I think this same opportunity still exists for most employees, even the younger ones. EM isn't going anywhere. Once demand picks up in 2021, XOM stock will recover and emerge a stronger company for the cost reductions and capex discipline it was forced to adopt in 2020.

But, if you are looking for happiness, job satisfaction, "fairness", an easy ride, exemption from being laid off, and so on, might as well leave now because these things don't exist for most at EM. But be cautious, times are changing and you may not find greener pastures everywhere.

Brutally honest information

Missed one point: the 360 feedback is meaningless and our typical EM way to close an issue by creating a new process and procedure to be able to say I listened and fixed the issue in employee forums!

Who has the balls to give negative feedback about their manager, when the manager knows who were asked to provide feedback? Not gonna happen!!!

You want honest 360, open up an anonymous platform and ask every employee in a managers team.

My thoughts to the post below @1mjf+18mWoXJQ

1- 10 or 20 years are immaterial. If we talk about the younger generation, we have to think 60 to 80 years and EM ability to pay pensions and increasing pay scales in that time horizon for current employees.

2- Dont believe that EM value will increase by a noteworthy consideration. There is a multiple decade cap on oil prices because of excess ability to bring shale online and excess international capacity. anytime oil touches 50-60 a barrel this capacity will hit the market and be a downward pressure.

3- Canada is actually the worst placed overall regardless of employee costs. Oil Sands will never be competitive against other sources in the near term, and public opinion is strongly against Oil and Gas in provinces that matter politically.

I've been longer with the company, in a similar, lucky, above-average ranking. My two cents for those young employees reading this - just to attempt some rational balance - I still believe our company will increase in value for one or two decades. But it doesn't matter where you work, you always want to be looking for a better alternative - stay if you can't find it.

1. The media onslaught on how the oil industry is doomed continues to be relentless. The real consequence will be more government regulation, that will limit the company's growth.

2. The ranking system could be improved with universal 360, private ratings. The current system is corrupt - you cherry pick the handful of people that you will request feedback from, then start treating them nicely four months before the KO forms are due.

3. Not quite BTC, but IOL/Canada still provides a lower cost per employee to the company, and I would assume there might be some growth in the future there - and corresponding shrinking in the US workforce.

The ranking system is their original sin that destroys honesty, trust, and natural collaborative and cooperative tendencies vital to any creative endeavors. The examples of this in other companies like GE and Microsoft are well documented and published (see “Microsoft’s lost Decade”, in the Atlantic if memory serves). Microsoft reformed. I doubt XOM can, as it involves a system that has benefited those with the most power, even though, it k–led the company.

I’m ex EU oil and gas. On my own. Don’t cut yourself short. You will thrive on the outside. I was afraid too but I left. Run away as fast as you can. Look at the budget. Make it work. You can. We are all paid (and were paid) well. The opportunities outside of big oil are huge.

Thanks for an excellent post. something I can really use while thinking about the future.

Well said. Three cheers.

None of us down here in the USA are feeling love for the company right now either. Sorry to hear you feel you have it incrementally worse up North.

Most Americans I know think Canadians are great.

Left the company after 10 years. I think #1 and #3 are key. Many better alternatives when you consider these two points. Expect wage growth to severely stagnate when oil consumption halts.

Very well said! 23 Years with the Company and endorse everything said in the post.

One of the more factual posts here. Younger folks would do themselves a favour reflecting on this information.

The one detail I will add is that the job is worthwhile for those who continue to stay in the High Potential assessment category. The top 10%...

Anything below, and even the ones ranked Q1 without High Potential assessment will eventually move downwards with time. Why? Because you will simply not be offered the roles that are needed to sustain the high ranking.

But..... build yourself a simple model and understand the odds of staying Q1 High Potential for the 40 years of your career to really have respect. Then think a bit about what are the other things in life you will be required to sacrifice to even have a shot at sustaining this performance long-term.

So true! It is like going to jail every day when I wake up to work in Imperial Oil. “We treat them like dirt but they still say thank you to you...” this message was sent to me by mistake from my supervisor when he intended to send it to the manager he reported. He asked me to ignore when he realized his mistake.

I was laid off and I’m taking that sweet Canadian severance (although not as sweet as the severance offered by the other oil majors in Canada) and riding off into the sunset.

id–tic.

@yjq+18mWoXJQ

Dear Friend, If the destiny of a Company is tied so closely to International Resources / Businesses, your post doesn't exhibit the right mind-set for long term success.

It is eventually the Company / American benefit if every international business works at maximum efficiency, which requires international employees to be equally loyal, and assets taken care of long term (not sole focus on maintaining scorecards 2-3 Yrs for the inpats assignment).

Credit to the op for a very truthful and thoughtful set of impressions. Very much an American biased company...which you might expect of course, but as a Brit I felt very much a second class citizen. The level of bias is not as acute in any other company I have worked for. I did have several years on assignment to the campus and our UK based satalite office barely got a mention and only received crumbs from the houston table....despite the fact that the most experienced and useful guys were based there!

You express the thoughts of many of us exactly. Unfortunately, our ranking system is a zero sum game.

Owned by an American company expect to be run by Americans. Go drink a Timmy

This post is just sadly very true and one of the most objective I have seen here. 14 years experience here, never had an issue with ranking and been in a leadership role twice. Nevertheless feel trapped.