US oil and gas company ExxonMobil is reportedly considering job cuts across its global operations, as the coronavirus pandemic hits fuel demand.
The move to weigh worldwide job cuts follows the company’s announcement of voluntary redundancy programme in Australia.
The company’s global layoff process will continue into 2021, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Australia is the company’s first nation outside the US that has wrapped up the review of its operations, the news agency said.
ExxonMobil Australia has started a voluntary redundancy programme for its Australian employees, after conducting an extensive review of current and future project work.
The company is offering the programme to all employees in Melbourne, Gippsland, Sydney, Adelaide and Perth.
The oil and gas company stated: “Employees who participate in the program will be provided with company support, including outplacement services.
“This program will ensure the company manages through these unprecedented market conditions.”
ExxonMobil slashed 2020 capital spending by 30%
Owing to a historic collapse in fuel demand, ExxonMobil has earlier reduced its 2020 capital spending by 30%, in addition to hinting at further cuts in 2021.
ExxonMobil spokesman Casey Norton was quoted by the news agency as saying: “We have evaluations underway on a country-by-country basis to assess possible additional efficiencies to right-size our business and make it stronger for the future.”
In July, the company reported a loss of $1.1bn for the second quarter of this year, mainly due to reduced demand from the Covid-19 pandemic.
It was the first back-to-back quarterly loss for the company in more than three decades.
For the first quarter of 2020, the company reported a loss of $610m.
In an earnings call on 31 July, ExxonMobil senior vice president Neil Chapman said that the company is weighing its workforce needs and looking at reductions “business by business and country by country.”
