Oil and gas company Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) will be laying off 7% of its labor force in Singapore which houses its largest oil refining and petrochemical complex. Exxon made the announcement on March 3 clarifying that unprecedented market conditions courtesy of the pandemic fueled the decision.
This job cut will be carried out periodically till the end of 2021, the company said 300 job positions out of the current 4,000 positions will be affected by the job cut.
“This is a difficult but necessary step to improve our company’s competitiveness and strengthen the foundation of our business for future success,” said ExxonMobil Asia Pacific managing director Geraldine Chin.
This job trim comes several weeks after the company announced it will be shutting down its Altona refinery in Australia and converting it to an import terminal. The facility is 72 years old.
The oil and gas industry is among the most affected sectors by the pandemic due to reduced travelling volumes across the world. Exxon recorded a historic net annual loss for the year 2020.
Exxon Mobil’s Singapore complex houses its largest integrated petrochemical production site, the facility has the capacity to refine about 592,000 barrels per day.
