Thread regarding ExxonMobil Corp. layoffs

I was 39 and Cl27. Im now 45 and still Cl27.

So probably not much in the future.

@af I'm 39 @ CL 27... what is the future?

With the exception of some “your job goes to India” comments, this post had a lot of good (see what I did there) and correct statements. If you’re RE like me, being assessed as Good assessment is perfectly fine. We’d be leaving in a few years anyway. You think I’m busting my a— for a few more dollars? Nope.

58 year old IC. Had a great year! Dropped from VG to G. One Mgr in the room shot me. No one stood up to him. Is this the way R&R is supposed to work? Time to match result/efforts with my new ranking!

I was moved to a shi t hol e extremely dysfunctional group and was torpedoed. My ranking was dropped from good to NI before the move. After the move I was f ed by the entire team. Nothing I did was right and everything was criticized. I got NSI this year and moved out of that fe ed up group.

We used to report thirds. Bottom third was fron the over 45 group still contributing but not going anywhere to anyone who may have had a particular issue over the year. Raise would be around inflation, no bonus. Good is the new bottom third. Meh, don't worry too much, just keep collecting your money (or go find a satisfying career). NI means you are basically on career new in this new scheme. Good luck

Be careful switching to new group at “Good”. You could end up as the PIP if the Supervisor must sacrifice one person and has long term relationship with his team members.

I once got assigned to a new project team, nobody knew me. I quickly became to lead person of a 100+ person team and was running the project for the manager that knew nothing. Local management recognized this effort and many achievements so submitted their prelim rank list with me as number 1 of 16 at my CL rank group. Local management received a phone call and were instructed to submit a revised list with me no higher that 9th of 16. Such instructions are not sent in emails and officially never happen.
Moving up the list for an older, non sponsored person like me is forbidden, even if earned.

In summary, moving to a new group has risks, and also has limitations as to how high the new group can place you.

At that point you're there because your supervisor thinks you're "good". You'll need to roll the dice and find a new group or manager to reset the performance assessment relationship.

Did anyone here actually escape the ‘Good’ trap? What worked — sponsor? lateral? switching orgs?

Moving and flexibility essentially comes partly out of the employee's pocket now.

"it'll be great development"

"development into what?"

@dq

Location flexibility is one....most upstream and downstream sites are not located in the most desirable locations to start. You really have to put up more money to attract ppl with some talents to relocate (with their families) to these locations.

It's an effort over time to bring salaries in line with their benchmarking group made of other non oil and gas companies. This is what happens when you get board members and execs that don't understand the sacrafice required to work in this industry.

You’re good, but not good enough for a raise!….. Basically a slap in the face. ExxonMobil needs to look at cost of living adjustments and market adjustments.

Ranked good these days is upper third in the old ExxonMobil. You won’t get a salary increase or good assignments…

I personally have more respect for ppl that are ranked very good and good than excellent / outstanding. I know they are less likely to be 2 faced backstabbers for one.

@af+1k0mme2p1, your math ain't mathing

If it makes you feel any better 45% of folks are good or very good. 20% are NI. My point is that a significant percentage of employees are with you.

There's a lot of solid contributers there with you, it's just how it is. And guess what, it gets harder each year.

Unless you are already late career, GOOD means you are not a keeper. There is no such thing as good hard working being “parked” somewhere. It’s up or out and there is no up. Stay if that works for you but don’t expect to advance or survive through mid career. Sorry, but you need to know this.

If you are over 55 without a sponsor, they will move you down to Good as a holding point until they replace you with AI. Another Indian.

Use the following formula (55-age)/(27-current CL). That is how often you will be promoted. You are capped at CL 27 but could still be promoted at long frequency ( 5 to 10 years between promotions. Plus your pay raise will be maybe 1% above inflation (3 to 4% per year max at 2.5% inflation). They target your last promotion by about age 55 when you are below 50% RG. If you are below 30% RG, you will not be promoted (you are headed for PIP especially if someone in India can learn your job.

Noticed a few folks here said it: “Good” really is one step above NI. And once you realize that, you start seeing how fragile the whole thing is.

You can have a solid year, even do extra, and it won’t move the needle — unless you're on someone’s radar, or pushing a narrative that leadership wants to hear.

And yeah, if you're an IC in CL23–25, that's basically the new ceiling. You do the work, but they want HiPos who can market it. Otherwise, you're boxed in. It's like… invisible effort tax.

If you’re technical or a contributor, Good is the new ceiling.

“Good” means you’re good enough to do all the dirty work and not good enough to be rewarded for it. You’re basically the dependable donkey in a suit.

And let’s be real — “Good” is just one step above “Needs Improvement,” the absolute bottom. For anyone sitting in CL23–25, that means you’re in the danger zone without even knowing it. You’re not junior enough to be trained or mentored, not senior enough to be protected. One re-org, one budget cut — and suddenly you're in the crosshairs.

I once got “Very Good” the year I did less, because I happened to present in front of someone important twice. That’s when I learned: this isn’t performance management. It’s visibility roulette.

“Good” is the last step before NI.

Depending on CL / rank group, it's likely you're mid-to-late career and while you do solid work, you value your work-life balance, you don't necessarily go do all the extras, are an IC, and probably don't identify and drive new opportunities. The upper rank groups are very tough for ICs.

You are not HiPo. Period.

I was ranked Good one year, put in more effort and delivered what I thought was my best year yet, the following year.

Instead, was ranked NSI.

It’s favoritism. That’s it. Most Management will promote their friends, family and favorites above who is really deserving.