Thread regarding ExxonMobil Corp. layoffs

@8bsq+1bIPe947
Adding to “I have an idea, why don't we...?”:
“We’ve done it this way since John D. Rockefeller in 1870, so no need to change now!”

• The ranking system destroying any attempts of teamwork and collaboration
• Success is being the one that gets the honor to present a power point presentation to a Sr. Manager vs. actually being the one contributing and coming up with a value making idea
• Fear culture, mistakes are "bad", I guess the only way to learn and improve is from the best decisions we make
• Working for complying with audits (and for the fear of failing them) instead of for innovation and value
• Can we do this differently?: No
• I have an idea, why don't we...?: It goes against the guidelines / procedures / best practices/ it would require the endorsement from a very special person that cannot be bothered with an improvement initiative (unless it's my idea or I present it as mine)
• "We hire to retire" / "We think long term": Layoffs disguised as PIP to "maintain the dividend"
• "Safety is our #1 core value": We were forced to go back to the office as early as May 2020, when covid19 cases were soaring everywhere
• Endless and meaningful power point requirements
• It was better to actually lose money on a project than recognizing a mistake because that would imply a Sr. Manager to learn about it and ruin some Manager/Supervisor's career. I've seen that happen too many times, and the culture does nothing but to foster that behavior
• The energy industry is going through tremendous disruptive changes, apparently no one in Dallas got the memo
• When I post this, at least 10 more reasons will come up

One thing that became clear over the years working for EM, management will explain away nearly every resignation as “personal” or “family” reasons. It is the ultimate scapegoat for taking any responsibility for their role in causing someone to leave. It’s also something that’s easy for the resignee to say to avoid telling them AGAIN why it’s just not working out. “Let’s break up, but it’s mostly me…” doesn’t burn bridges.

By the time someone’s assessment of staying is so low that that it’s thrown out of balance their basic family needs, the company has eroded all the reasons that person chose to make the trade off in the first place. It’s always personal. But the company is never blameless.

Primary motivation for me was definitely moving closer to family. I actually liked my job/career/compensation with XOM, even with recent changes. However, there was always a trade-off that existed with the company: we'll give you a stable, life-long career full of growth and development, and you'll live/work wherever we want you to. That deal obviously changed over the last year, so I decided it was time to make the jump and prioritize family over career.

Trust broken too many times. In the end the scales just tip and I left. I was being overworked in a job I specifically asked not to be put in on 3 separate occasions. I was continually promised promotions that just didn’t quite materialize after I giving my all for work that made my bosses look good and got them promoted. The ranking system. The management culture using fear to drive behavior. The gaping void between the values and principles claimed by leadership vs what they do and support in practice. The condescending dress code. The decision to put dividend over “the best people” in the industry. Cutting the 401k match. The Upstream reorg putting all the same bad-behavior managers back into power because “everyone deserves a chance to change”. Those same managers not attended the expensive coaching to change those behaviors. The “leadership behaviors” that never came to be. The good old boys club. The sexism. The flexibility programs that penalized many of those who took them. The promises that the demographics would allow for opportunities, then Boomers getting hired right back on as expensive contractors all the while I kept jockeying power point and building charts and doing all the tedious work none of them had a clue how to do. Forcing us into the office throughout 2020. Management sponsoring the brown nosers and those who look like them. Being told I “should just be grateful I have a job.” Watching the colleagues I most respected quitting or being laid off. It took me longer to leave because I cared and felt an ownership or leadership responsibility that maybe I shouldn’t have felt. I thought I might be able to influence some change, but as they tell you on day 1, “it’s a big ship that takes a long time and a lot of hands to turn.” The relief of leaving was a huge weight lifted and I have had no regrets.

My clueless manager in BR. 4 plus years of dealing with her nonsense. Driving engineers to quit and pip. Forget her.

3 months pay and benefits after they told me I was NSI’d after being recruited 2-1/2 yrs earlier as an engineer they just had to have. They said I could get on my knees to pass my PIP. I said no thanks, it’s just lawyer-speak for a layoff.

They told me to fu-k off. I told them to fu-k off.

That was my motivation.

@cvn+1bIPe947
Hats off to ya as you enter the elevator going up.
Robin Williams level funny.

My boss's boss's boss was a huge d-bag

I retired several years ago because it was time (over 60, Lump sum, interest rates etc), but I was working on very exciting stuff and surrounded by great people. Culture is far better than the "old days" (pre 2000). No layoffs since 1999, until last year. Layoffs were frequent before 2000. Salary is much higher than what we earned in 2000 even after adjusting for inflation. Loved the new campus. I respect 90% of managers and supervisors. XOM hires not just smart people, but people who are good, loving, caring. My best friends today are people I worked with in XOM, and many former XOM that left for greener pastures. All are good people. XOM is a great company that will rise again, because the people are the culture.

I left with 25 years and 58 yo - lump sum was great/401K to external IRA. A chunk.
I stayed technical the whole career at EM and and kept feet on the ground - no Advisor or STP roles. Project lead, yes. Team lead, lordy no.
Now consulting half-time through a respected engineering agency.
(They like I have no medical insurance needs)

I am an Engineer.
Therefore - I am not ExxonMobil.

In summary: I'd tapped out the good stuff in this dying field. The stink drove me on.

Toxic culture and toxic people. You constantly think “it’s not so bad, I get paid well” but for experienced hires like me who worked somewhere else we know there’s a better way and lots of things at Exxon are just id--tic. … my well-being has been improving since leaving.

When I resigned there was actually an "exit survey" that I can fill in. I guess the reason is that there are a lot of people from my job family resigned.

I am a female, minority, in my late 20/early 30. Here are the three things I listed, ranked in order:

1. culture. I like to "accomplish" things and push projects forward. The culture I found in XOM is VERY rigid and VERY intransparent
2. diversity. Needless to say, I am always the youngest, only women, and only minority sitting in a meeting, and I always feel I can't contribute because I don't belong to the club.
3. compensation. I am the top 1/3 (before change) and the second-ranking level (after change, sorry forgot the exact name) for all the years I am with XOM, but the compensation is not satisfying. I changed the industry and get a good raise.

Anyone else see the latest attempt to keep us from leaving? Email circulating talking about a made up conversation by the elevator lobby. Guess when all else fails, openly lie to try and convince or guilt-trip the gullible few that the company wants us.

If they wanted us they wouldn’t have outsourced us

If they needed us they wouldn’t have canned some of the most competent people

So a big F You to DW and his Ps and VPs, good luck to all leaving a sinking ship

Performance system is complete shambles. A shameful process ruining the company motivation. You cannot run this company with the same management that have built an empire of distrust.

Simple.

The same people who sc--w you over are still in power.

@mcs+1bIPe947 - the solution is simple, you urgently need to be realigned via a conversation with your supervisor

I left for multiple reasons, none having to do with family, although sure have made that a primary decision:

1. No transparency in career path, as an experienced hire this was something I never understood and could no longer tolerate. Ridiculous that your direct supervisor had the authority to turn down requests to go work in other BL’s
2. CL Level was very low coming in, found out where I “should have” been and felt there was no way to make up the lost ground and def not worth it
3. The way company handled layoffs and PIPS. Not a single middle manager impacted. Having worked externally for most of my career, XOM middle management is “weak” and delivering through others is laughable

These were the reasons I started interviewing. Once I did, and saw the new salary bands and levels in organizations recruiters were offering me and placing me in it became very clear I’d make significantly more money, have more formal authority and be able to have an impact without as much work “aligning” with do nothing management….

@OP If you have to ask then you’re most likely part of the problem.

A real rocket scientist this one lol

I know several people who left in order to live closer to friends/family. The company’s mismanagement of various things simply made their decision easier, even if it wasn’t originally the main factor.

Mental health was threatened so I left to keep building my company. My manager was an oppressive, racist, intimidating id--t. Very toxic work environment for me

Youre off base...no one I know who has left was about family. It was about trust and how your treat your employees. People dont leave their families for 18 years then all of the sudden go back. People left here because this company changed its culture from a career-focused company to one who seeks the lowest cost employees....even if that means cutting benefits.