In a major consolidation within the oil industry, ExxonMobil plans to eliminate nearly 400 jobs following its acquisition of Irving-based Pioneer Natural Resources. The layoffs, primarily affecting employees in Irving and Midland, Texas, were outlined in a notice to the Texas Workforce Commission, as reported by Chron. The job reductions will occur in seven phases, with the process expected to extend through May 2026.
Despite the plans for scaled reductions that will release 110 employees by the end of this year and another 178 across 2025, with the remainder in 2026, the company has made it clear that a major portion of Pioneer's staff were integrated into its operations. "Our employment strategy has not changed - the success of this merger depends heavily on the retention of Pioneer's talented workforce," read the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) letter, obtained by KHOU. Following the merger, more than 1,900 Pioneer employees had been offered positions, with a majority accepting their offers.
ExxonMobil's acquisition of Pioneer, completed in May, was a notable transaction valuing the company at nearly $60 billion and holds the title of being their largest since the Mobil acquisition in 1999. Following the deal, former Pioneer CEO Scott Sheffield and other executives were reported to receive a total of $141.4 million in payments related to the transaction. However, Sheffield is not to join the Exxon board as per the conditions of the deal.
The aftermath of this acquisition is expected to more than double ExxonMobil's oil production in the Permian Basin, raising output to 1.3 million barrels of oil per day. The Houston oil giant, as it is dealing out layoffs, earned $8.6 billion for the quarter ending Sept. 30. The industry continous to navigate challenges as reported by Reuters, with companies like ConocoPhillips and Marathon Oil also undergoing workforce reductions in their own mergers. Moreover, Shell Global was mentioned making cuts to its upstream workforce by as much as 20 percent.
