By Florence Tan and Shruti Sonal
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Exxon Mobil Corp plans to cut its workforce in Singapore, home to its largest petrochemical and oil refining complex, by around 7% amid “unprecedented market conditions” resulting from the COVID- pandemic. 19, said on Wednesday.
About 300 jobs out of the current 4,000 jobs will be affected by the end of 2021, the company said in a statement.
The layoffs in Singapore come weeks after Exxon announced its plan to close its 72-year-old Altona refinery in Australia and convert it into an import terminal. The United States’ largest oil producer, once the most valuable company in America, recorded a historic annual loss in 2020 after the coronavirus pandemic reduced energy demand.
Exxon’s announcement also follows the decision by European major Royal Dutch Shell in November to cut 500 employees and halve its crude oil processing capacity in Singapore as part of a global strategy to reduce carbon emissions.
The Exxon Mobil complex in Singapore has the capacity to refine approximately 592,000 barrels of oil per day and includes its largest integrated petrochemical production unit.
The city-state will remain a strategic location for the company, he said.
“This is a difficult but necessary step to improve the competitiveness of our company and strengthen the basis of our business for future success,” said Geraldine Chin, President and Managing Director, ExxonMobil Asia Pacific Pte Ltd.
Last year, Exxon said it remained committed to a multi-billion dollar expansion in the Singapore complex amid an ongoing review of its projects globally.
(Reporting by Shruti Sonal in Bengaluru and Florence Tan in Singapore; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Christian Schmollinger)