Thread regarding ExxonMobil Corp. layoffs

Well.. it isn’t just the salary side. On the wage side, both mechanical and operations, people are leaving in waves. New hire trainees are leaving before even qualify on a single post. Better money other places, but mostly the work environment and lack of leadership. Oh, and by the way, know body trust the company at all. Not with regard to the future of the company or the future of anyone’s career. I could go on and on. This is a real problem and on typical fashion, ExxonMobil will only manage it when it becomes a crisis… that’s why we never get out of crisis mode.

Because the highest attrition has always been in the 1 to 15 year service range. Higher for non-US, because international pensions and laws are different than US. This is not radically different than the past oil price crashes (1982, 1985, 1986, 1991, 1997). What is different is XOM did not lay off in 2015 crash...we kept too many b-ms and had to double down in 2021. We should have started aggressively PIPing in 2015.

@4juh Yep, I’m getting the sane treatment and I’m ranked Outstanding. Definitely out of here.

Agreed. My boss is coming up with silly cr-p to antagonize and harass me in order to get me to quit. Guess what, it’s working, I’m out of here. Pathetic way to end a career getting harassed by a horrible person that knows she doesn’t belong in management. God help us all,

Seems like Exxon is forcing people out who are higher in the salary range. PIP someone before 40 years old and they can’t claim age discrimination, then replace them with a much lower paid employee out of college. No worries that the one right out of college doesn’t know anything, all the real engineering is being done at KLTC and India.

Stay long enough, and you will be PIP’d and encouraged to leave, no raise, extra work and hours, followed up with another NI or NSI the following year

Lots of truth in these posts unfortunately nothing will change other than folks venting frustrations.

Seems like Exxon is forcing people out who are higher in the salary range. PIP someone before 40 years old and they can’t claim age discrimination, then replace them with a much lower paid employee out of college. No worries that the one right out of college doesn’t know anything, all the real engineering is being done at KLTC and India.

Stay long enough, and you will be PIP’d and encouraged to leave, no raise, extra work and hours, followed up with another NI or NSI the following year.

@dmm+1cLb3uRU

Has anyone compared the costs of EM retiree health plan vs ACA ?

@OP They’re leaving for better pay and/or working conditions.

Once you have 5+ years of engineering experience, you can do whatever you want in your field, and (most of the time) get whatever compensation you ask for.

Pro tip: when all of the experience starts walking out the door, find out where it’s going and follow it out.

“ the rounds of PIPs and layoffs has me looking around so I can leave on my terms instead of being shown the door when it is hard to find another job”

I think you answered your own question.

This post struck a chord now didn’t it!? Great discussion, thanks to all. I know then that I am not alone as I shine up the ole CV and work to line up some alternative “remuneration discussions” into 1Q 2022. Yeehaw!

This post struck a chord now didn’t it!? Great discussion, thanks to all. I know then that I am not alone as I shine up the ole CV and work to line up some alternative “remuneration discussions” into 1Q 2022. Yeehaw!

Everyone has now seen the true face of EM. Their word does not hold its weight anymore. Lying, bullying, political down ranking, and once the layoff and MLRP/PIP happened last year (after decades of pip’s being secretive) - the company then made a video on why that deranged system is so good and beneficial?
Retiree Health insurance is not free, it is higher than employee rate and will continue to go up.
The pension has the “discount factor” which has also started climbing. This means less for you.
No remote work?
Reasons upon reasons.
The great Pip off of 2020, that blindsided so many-also spoke volumes to the remaining employees. You are NOT the company’s biggest asset.

Some people are jumping for huge raises like $20k+ which will easily cover health insurance for several years if they want to build their own insurance nest egg. If it’s also in high growth industries they’ll see their compensation continue to increase. So to answer your question OP I guess the risk vs reward doesn’t make sense to stick around for 2 years if the right opportunity comes

@jwm+1cLb3uRU in the US, healthcare is not paid for retirees, but they do get to stay on the company health plans at their own expense. This used to be a significant benefit before the ACA, but is much less valuable today.

We’ll said @kci+1cLb3uRU.

To propose another answer: Somewhere between years 10 and 15, most ExxonMobil employees become quite financially independent. Big 401k, kids education funded, house on the way to being paid off, maybe an investment property, and they finally have that 6mo-1yr salary nest egg. So essentially, they are no longer beholden to ExxonMobil and are free agents.

This doesn’t apply to all the 10-15 year employees, but quite a few have been good savers and now have financial freedom.

If you leave before 55...no healthcare

Do you really get health care paid for after 55 if you left with 15+ years?? I have never heard of this policy - where on the hr site can I read more about it?

@OP,
I have 16 years with XOM and I'm 52 years old. I plan on resigning early next year. Being 52 I'm NRE and probably can tough it out until 55 and have a really good lump sum of ~$850K versus the ~$400K by leaving early and also a small amount of RSUs that I'll forfeit. Why would I do this financially d-mb move? @kci summed it up nicely. I have no debt, college for the kids are saved, and medical insurance through ACA with subsidies is tolerable. Why stick around and be miserable?

That’s about how long it takes for typical employees to see enough of the company’s dirty laundry to decide they need to get out.

Those that can, they do and those that can’t well they manage those that can.

I’ll give a few examples of how jacked up management is.
Employee A began in engineering, tripped several units off line. Business unit states get him off my unit. Goes into management and heads to a small site. He was personally responsible for running off 9 great engineers. The company takes surveys etc trying to figure out what’s wrong. The last engineer left because this d-mb a-s wouldn’t allow him to take vacation to shop for Christmas presents. He gets promoted to a larger site but becomes much smarter. Still micromanaging his employees but befriending a select few to stay under the radar. Why does he micromanage? Well to pull a vacuum on his boss and appear to know his business. That’s all he does. Te--orize employees and suck the life out of them to report to management. Technically and morally dead.

Employee B She finally gets a break into management because she failed at everything else. She is not from America so she has a n advantage. First manage,ent gig she winds up in conflict with an employee and wounds up in hr. They give her soak time in a dead head position then right back into management. She takes on higher execs pet work meanwhile lying her way to the top and abusing her employees and driving I and D down their throat when she’s the most vindictive, lying piece of work I have ever seen.
Employee c never really did anything but had great composure. Couldn’t design his way out of a paper bag. You guessed it. Management material.

Same site and the tale of 3 cities. The system is broken!

Why would you stay with a cheating spouse? If your answer is because they provide then your an id--t. Same goes for dealing with this morally corrupt jacked up management system. Most all sls need to walk if you want to cut costs. At one point we hired the brightest. Now not many want to work here so maybe you need well Piaf baby sitters micromanaging lta workers because that’s all that will apply.

It’s good to see that I’m not the only one feeling this way. Was once proud to work here not I’m disgusted when I hit the gate each day. Wishing my life away to exit this place. The fence is there to keep folks in not others out. Pi-s poor managers playing lap dog games at the manufacturing sites with absolutely no clue other than to advance their career and look good for the department heads is spot on at least in between Texas and Mississippi. Hopefully other sites are better because I don’t wish this on anyone.

Unfortunately they depended on poor “leaders” and entry level supervisors (lap dogs) to choose who to pip not based on merit. Then they told these people they cannot ever pursue employment with the company again. I’m not sure why anyone would want to but you have to admit it’s another slap in the face. It is completely sickening what they did. This has angered so many that have watched it first hand. Why would anyone be motivated to work for them? It used to be a great company.

Ultimately, I know my knowledge, my professionalism and my ethics will get me PiPd long before I'm 55.
Not to mention my foolish honesty. That's already caused trouble.
But that's the shakes.

@OP Are those people really left on their own terms? Don't take their words for it. I've seen many saying "retirement" or "pursuing" other opportunities. I'm sure they could have waited couple of years before the big pension multiplier kicks in. If you have sucked up with EM for that long, wouldn't you?

I'm a 15 year employee, with a moderate level of success - not a HIPO, but ranked well enough to be awarded RSUs, and spent half my time with EM as an expat, which I found rewarding both personally and professionally. Prior to the past year I would have considered myself a lifer, but will now walk away for the right opportunity and actively looking to do so. This is due to a number of changes in the EM culture that have either eroded the value of a long-term EM career or are no longer sustainable going forward. The key issues for me are:

• Using PIP quotas to implement a layoff - much has already been said about this issue on this site, but this is the number 1 issue driving away good people that aren't directly impacted by a PIP themselves. The company needed to go on a diet and the need to go through a serious layoff was and is an unfortunate necessity. However, the process EM management has chosen to do this has been grossly negligent. The basic problem with management's approach is they think they can have complete control over who goes and who stays, but it's a fundamentally flawed premise in today's working world, and now attrition is wide open. Business school case studies on how not to conduct a layoff will be written about what management has done over the past year. What was once (both for better and worse) one of the strongest corporate cultures in America is now dead. Perhaps this was inevitable, but things certainly could have been implemented differently.

• Really good people who I respect are choosing to leave, and finding good opportunities. This is both a wake up call to how bad it is internally, as well as what possibilities there are outside of EM. The grass is no greener in any other corporate environment, but breaking away from the current toxic environment is in itself rejuvenating even if only temporary.

• Changes in HR policy on pension lump-sum payout make staying less valuable. I can leave, and cash-out on my pension for ~$300k cash money today. Yes this is significantly less than if I stick it out for another 15-20 years, but for smart, non-risk adverse people this is an opportunity, not a significant haircut on a future potential pension payment, which is now less likely. One thing I find strange is HR changed this policy (which I can understand makes financial sense from EM's perspective), but won't allow NRE's the option to go now with full medical benefits, which has to be cheaper than paying them for 2-3 more years or forcing them into a PIP.

• I'm not sure EM has what it takes to be successful once we get to 2030+. We certainly don't have the leadership to survive let alone compete if technology advances to a point that hydrocarbon demand peaks sooner rather than later. I think there is a strong, profitable future in hydrocarbons for a long time to come as the world will continue to need all potential sources of cost competitive energy, but competing in this space will become more challenging. CCS may be a viable opportunity, but to think the management team EM currently has can deliver on it is crazy. The new CFO and board shake-up are unprecedented, but admittedly things that needed to happen. Will it make a difference? I don't think it is worth sticking around to find out.

• There is still to much deadwood and to many pretenders throughout all levels of management. Until this changes (which there is no indication this is coming), no meaningful change is possible. My supervisor, division manager, and VP all do not have the background or expertise to be leading the group I am in......that's insane, but that's the environment EM has created. We have people that have no business running the business functions they manage, and for the most part these same people do not posses extraordinary leadership abilities which make-up for their shortcoming in business knowledge. As a result significant time and resources are used (or really wasted) to 'educate' or bring up to speed a revolving door of unqualified or inappropriately experienced managers, and there is little to no accountability for the bad decisions that are made and left for others to mitigate.

EM Management has created a Monster called PIP that they think will improve the workforce.

In actuality the average employee sees the PIP as similar to Russian Roulette. No control over that bullet spinning around in that cylinder and each year is another pull of the trigger.

Odds are great that they will not survive another 10 years of trigger pulls with 8% annually.

Many decide to get out and stop pulling that trigger while they still have life left in them.

Why gamble your future with this company. It will be a hit or miss. It's either you come up on top or sink to the bottom. Do you think the future you could compete in the musical chair that this company play every year? In the future, what's the likelihood that you might get a bad boss? Just one mistake will send you packing your bags. That's the reality of this company.

Stay another 10 years and you will find out for yourself.

I've been here 14 years and I'm in my mid-30s. A lot more than 1-2 years to 55.....

It depends on your personal priorities. For me, it's about sanity, peace of mind, mental health, quality of life - pick one - or all.