Exxon Cutting Hundreds of Workers in Singapore

ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) has announced that it will reduce staffing levels at its Singapore affiliate as part of its ongoing effort to improve and sustain long-term competitiveness.

The company outlined that it expects around 300 positions will be impacted by the end of 2021, which it said represents approximately seven percent of ExxonMobil’s more than 4,000 employees in Singapore. 

In a statement posted on its website, ExxonMobil noted that unprecedented market conditions resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated ongoing reorganization and work-process changes that will improve the company’s long-term cost competitiveness and ability to manage through near-term challenges.

“This is a difficult but necessary step to improve our company’s competitiveness and strengthen the foundation of our business for future success,” Geraldine Chin, the chairman and managing director of ExxonMobil Asia Pacific Pte Ltd, said in a company statement.

“We are providing transitional support to our colleagues who are impacted and are focused on getting through this challenging time,” Chin added.

ExxonMobil confirmed that Singapore continues to be a strategic location for the company, “with a world-scale manufacturing complex and a talented workforce”.

In November last year, ExxonMobil announced that, as part of an ongoing global review to identify cost efficiencies and improve long-term competitiveness, staffing levels would be reduced at ExxonMobil’s Canadian affiliates. In a company statement at the time, it was anticipated that up to 300 positions would be impacted by the end of 2021.

In October 2020, ExxonMobil said it planned to reduce staffing levels in the United States, primarily at its management offices in Houston, and anticipated approximately 1,900 employees would be affected through voluntary and involuntary programs. During the same month, the company revealed that it planned to reduce European staffing levels and anticipated that up to 1,600 positions would be impacted by the end of 2021 across the company’s affiliates in Europe.

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