Thread regarding Shell Oil layoffs

Super Obvious - You Saw It Here First

Step 1 - More clearly separate disparate lines of businesses - IG from UP, T&S from D/R
Step 2 - Then, lift and shift P&T into the relevant businesses
Step 3 - Then, move to a model of businesses functioning much much more independently, controlling their own destiny (think how Alphabet runs all of their affiliated companies), portfolio company integration in reverse. The more 🐳🦢 speaks about the power of ‘integration’, the more certain this is the end game.

End result? Central Functions better be shi-tying themselves. You are about to be literally cut into small pieces, with 50% of you out the door by March 2027.

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| 3113 views | | 14 replies (last March 13, 2025) | Reply
Post ID: @OP+1jnv476gm

14 replies (most recent on top)

Most Shell US IT employees act like bureaucrats (coffee meetings, networking, and feminism). The Shell deep state!

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Post ID: @11z+1jnv476gm

@w3+1jnv476gm

you're making the argument for Shell to retain and hire great engineering, ML/AI, and robotics talent. The functions have a lot of people that don't have the will to reskill for those jobs. Even the staff under age 40. The functions outside of Shell branding (marketing) are not at the core of what Shell does. Based on projects that add value, you need contingent resources in the functions that can be onboarded to initiate the project and roll off once the project is moved to run and maintain. Also the company is moving more to the East so hiring should be done in Europe and Asia-Pac with some portion in South America. The US staff in the functions should be kept to a minimum for oversight and critical roles.

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Post ID: @w6+1jnv476gm

@ag+1jnv476gm

this method is for completely technical companies. another thing you and the fan boys always miss is that firing everyone isn’t the end. he rehires back critical roles about 3-6 months later. if shell won’t do that (they wont) then they can’t cut as hard as he does without permanent issues.

also, we get energy out of the ground and sell it 10 years after buying in which means we have the challenge of needing to invest a lot of capital knowing much won’t work out. if we cut that to the bone, then we just don’t get to be a company in about 10 years. you can’t cut the asset funnel 80% though they seem to be trying!

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Post ID: @w3+1jnv476gm

BP did the same with their execs in upstream no?

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Post ID: @n4+1jnv476gm

@jw+1jnv476gm

I think it's more important for everyone in Shell US and Canada to ask themselves -

  1. What are the most important tasks that I do throughout the year and do they directly increase revenue or cut costs?
  1. Can my most important tasks be done in a low cost country, third party supplier, or automated away?

If the answer is NO to the first question or YES to the second question, why would you need to remain at Shell? It's not an adult daycare. You're not entitled to a salary from a corporation.

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Post ID: @k0+1jnv476gm

@eq+1jnv476gm Where do you get your number and assumptions from?

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Post ID: @jw+1jnv476gm

giving the business lines (like t&s) more autonomy is a good thing. like it was 20 years ago. however p&t and the functions will not just be moved to low-cost countries, they will probably be outsourced completely in a few years.

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Post ID: @g2+1jnv476gm

Estimated US IT Employee Counts for Shell (2025–2027)

Assumes 1,000 IT staff in March 2025, with 80% (800 roles) moved to low-cost countries or third party suppliers by end of 2027.

Software Developers -
Senior Software Engineer: 2025: 92, 2026: 59, 2027: 24
Software Engineer: 2025: 76, 2026: 49, 2027: 20
Cloud Developer: 2025: 61, 2026: 39, 2027: 16
Data Engineer: 2025: 46, 2026: 29, 2027: 12
DevOps Engineer: 2025: 31, 2026: 20, 2027: 8

System Administrators -
Network Administrator: 2025: 53, 2026: 34, 2027: 14
Systems Administrator: 2025: 46, 2026: 29, 2027: 12
Cloud Systems Engineer: 2025: 31, 2026: 20, 2027: 8
Database Administrator: 2025: 23, 2026: 15, 2027: 6

Cybersecurity Specialists -
Cybersecurity Analyst: 2025: 38, 2026: 25, 2027: 10
Penetration Tester: 2025: 23, 2026: 15, 2027: 6
Security Engineer: 2025: 31, 2026: 20, 2027: 8
Incident Responder: 2025: 23, 2026: 15, 2027: 6

IT Support -
Help Desk Technician: 2025: 46, 2026: 29, 2027: 12
Desktop Support Specialist: 2025: 38, 2026: 25, 2027: 10
IT Support Analyst: 2025: 31, 2026: 20, 2027: 8

IT Managers -
IT Project Manager: 2025: 31, 2026: 20, 2027: 8
IT Operations Manager: 2025: 23, 2026: 15, 2027: 6
Cybersecurity Manager: 2025: 15, 2026: 10, 2027: 4
Systems Engineering Manager: 2025: 8, 2026: 5, 2027: 2

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Post ID: @eq+1jnv476gm

@e9+1jnv476gm

The correct answer is "I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you."

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Post ID: @ep+1jnv476gm

Central functions is justncost center and too far away from where money is actually made. Cant explain it better for you.

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Post ID: @e9+1jnv476gm

What are the central functions means?

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Post ID: @bw+1jnv476gm

Why this makes us competitive in the long term ?

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Post ID: @b9+1jnv476gm

@ag+1jnv476gm

You are right, a small portion of the company carries the weight for the many. The problem with your approach is the best people will be out the door first and the remaining folks will be clueless and the company will really see a nosedive then. It’s already happening.

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Post ID: @am+1jnv476gm

I'm hoping for a 75-80% reduction in the functions. Elon Musk proved this could be done at twitter and hopefully the US government. The pareto principle shows up in so much of our society. I would imagine the same can be said for the functions at Shell.

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Post ID: @ag+1jnv476gm

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