Exxon Mobil plans to cut 1,900 U.S. workers as the oil giant navigates a sharp drop in demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has curtailed both office commutes and vacation travel.
The separations, many at the company's Irving, Texas, headquarters, are both voluntary and involuntary, Exxon said in a statement on Thursday. Efforts to streamline operations, which many of its rivals are also engaged in, have become more urgent after the coronavirus spurred the worst downturn since the Great Depression, hammering oil prices.
"These actions will improve the company’s long-term cost competitiveness and ensure the company manages through the current unprecedented market conditions," executives said in the statement.
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Exxon, which is slated to report earnings for the three months through September on Friday, is expected to lose 25 cents per share, marking a third straight quarterly loss.
Revenue is likely to fall 29% year-over-year to $46.01 billion, according to estimates from Wall Street analysts.
EXXONMOBIL CEO WARNS OF JOB CUTS
Exxon CEO Darren Woods had warned last week that more job cuts were coming for employees in both the U.S. and Canada.
While the company has surpassed its targeted cuts, Woods said the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns intended to contain it have slashed oil demand by about 20%, five times the decline during the 2008 financial crisis.
Exxon, which was surpassed as the largest U.S. oil company by Chevron earlier this month, was removed from the Dow Jones Industrial Average in September.
Shares had fallen 55% this year through Wednesday compared with the S&P 500's 1.25% gain.
