Thread regarding ExxonMobil Corp. layoffs

Has our salary philosophy changed in the last 10 months?

I heard that even "Outstanding With Distinction" are only getting 3% raises in 2022.

@3tol+1e8IWymK
Oh, I’m all in tears about the poor CL30-32 people. In CL28-29 you have a mix of actual technical people who are systematically pushed down in our fake ranking so the hi-pos, supervisors and young managers can always be on top. This is a disgusting set-up in which technical people have no chance, no matter how hard they work.
CL30-32 is a bunch of managers or managers mascarading as fake “technical” people (STCs, Chiefs). They got there because they’re nasty, agressive, have sharp elbows and big sponsors. Sometimes they lose their sponsors or fall behind in the daily brown-nosing struggle and they get stepped on by the truly sociopathic ones. They get what they deserve.

@3tol+1e8IWymK - really that many CL30 - CL32 got lay-off/PIP ? At least I didn't see many in that level have to leave the company. Worst part is that they only being transferred to different department to manage another group (but still being a manager)...
This is how they protect the "executive" from being lay-off or PIP...

If you think CL 28 to29 rank group is tough. Look at 30 to 32 rank group. 20% of this group will be in bottom 20% and subject to PIP, forced into retirement. Also, getting promoted to CL 30 can reduce your compensation since poorly ranked CL30 make less than highly ranked CL29. Poorly ranked CL 30 lose their RSU plus many CL 30-32 were caught in layoff/PIP.

XOM rewards fraudsters who take credit for someone else's work. Engineers who have delivered ten of millions of $/year benefits have been shafted.

Historically, and even today, attrition rates slow done once people reach 15 years of service. The low performers are forced out in the first 3 to 5 years of service, and the remaining get promoted to CL26 to 28 in first 15 years. It gets very difficult to quit because salary is high, you have developed an expertise and your home, children spouse and other factors tend to entrench. Attrition drops dramatically above CL 28 and 15 years service. Company may need to find a way (such as more RSU grants) for those below 15 years service and below CL28, Then XOM has you locked in because you have to walk away for 1000s of unvested RSU grants.

CL 30 and above receive RSUs equivalent to their annual salary. The cash bonus is on top of that. They mint money for these sycophants, this is why they lie to us all about everything. They are made men and women and are beholding to the senior leadership. Executives are corrupt and not to be trusted.

Unions can’t do sh-t against XOM. How’s it going Beaumont?

How come college-degree CLs, engineers and such, aren't smart enough to Unionize?
From a corporate/management perspective, you're just another chunk of meat.
That has always befuddled me.
Take some control, y'all.

As someone who performed ranking last cycle for EMRE Engineering, rank groups were indeed adjusted last cycle to be first group: CL 23-27 and second group: <= CL 28. What I saw occurring very often was lower CL were often given higher ranking due to their performing above CL tasks. If you think about it, however, this was bound to occur since the layoff and attrition reduced headcount so significantly that employees that normally would not be given opportunities to do work at that level were now forced to take that into their R&R. So at the end of that day, did they really perform above and beyond or just meet the modified base expectations? Higher CLs (26-27) were black marked for not being as "ambitious" as lower CL when in all honestly in last years market there really was not much opportunity to do so. Manufacturing was given the edict to "hold last" and keep running... no improvements, no projects...just make money.

Sounds to me like rank groups are also different throughout the company. Mine was 27-29 this past year.

Rank groups can be adjusted annually. I have seen 23-27, 23-25 with 26-27, 20-27 and this year even 20-29

Yes, I confirm, in EMRE - EMHC, the rank group was broadened to 23-27. I was told this was to save 1 or 2 people from PIP, since any fractional headcount in 8% had to be rounded up within each rank group. But, this might as well have been to further justify PIP’ing higher CL, older employees, by claiming like wee CLs performed better vs. expectations for their level.

Can others confirm that rank groups were adjusted this past cycle? Seems like that might allow a way too easy means to manipulate the rankings. It's obvious that a low CL shouldn't have the impact a high CL should have and be ranked lower, therefore unfairly shifting their rankings lower. Conversely, a high CL could be ranked low and told they don't compete compared to the hungry mid career lower CL, Basically EM is making this mess up as they go along.

Yes, the math for CL 28-29 just isn’t going to work for another two years, especially if another 8% pip-off.

There’s no one left to rank low after the last three years. 60-80% filled with previously sponsored hi-pos in many groups.

You really hate to see it among such a fine group of brown-nosers, hahahahhahaha.

@uka+1e8IWymK - in my ranking group in previous assessment, all CL23 until CL27 are ranked together...then you know that people who are older with CL27 will be sacrificed to be in the NSI group...

Rank groups are CL 20-25, 26-27, 28-29 for non-exec. A CL 23 can’t hang with a 27 simply due to level of responsibility.

@ran+1e8IWymK - as far as I know, CL23 until CL-27 (T3) are ranked together, whereas CL28-C29 (T2) are ranked in separate group...but you are right, we don't have clear answer what are the guidelines for promotion...only HR and managers know about it, and they can manipulate the system to give the promotion to their favorite people or their minions, but not to the worker bee who did all the works...
Wish you all the best to aim for the promotion that you want...even if you didn't get it, it is not the end of the world..just know that there are other companies out there who would appreciate you better than EM HR and the incapable and corrupt managers...

I was wondering lately how they’re going to solve this problem: in CL28-29 there’s a whole bunch of HiPos, young supervisors and managers who of course need to be highly ranked so they can move upward and “fulfill the prophecy” of their sponsors.
But in CL28-29 it’s very difficult to find people to fill the bottom nowadays. It used to be that older, 50+ technical workers would be ranked low through fake ranking to pad the bottom, but after all the retirements and PIPoffs we run out of such people. So now they have to bring in people from lower CLs to be able to continue doing their dirty tricks.
This is EM breaking their own rules to maintain a bankrupt, corrupt system. It’s unbelievable we got that low.

Ranking system is so awesome that it allowed me, a CL-24, to be ranked against a small group of 28s, 29s. i still managed to pull off a G this last cycle. The reward for being used as ranking fodder for those senior buffoons to continue on their cozy pre-retirement assignments is: no move CL 25 due to G performance, along with an apology for ranking CL4s in that group. And now that HR completely dictates salary treatment, my boss can hide behind an algorithm and promise to rank me better next time. Lemme guess tho: Next year after ranking E I will be told that move to 25 requires consecutive E rankings, right? gtfoh.

@kws+1e8IWymK

You need better reading comprehension skills. The goal is now to pay the average worker (meaning rank of VG) at the 33rd percentile. The effect on lower ranked will be even more drastic.

I'm offended. Bottom 33% pay for bottom 33% skills. Culture of incompetence

Market Rate = Low Balling, plain and simple.

@snh+1e8IWymK
You’re asking really st_upid questions from your managerial perch.
Why would somebody highly critical of the company still work here? If you’re RE, would you rather retire in December or in March, given rates better in Q1 2022 than in Q4 2021?
If you’re investing your hard earned money, who says you’re investing it in this looming disaster that EM is now?
Stu_pid, condescendent questions and lies exposed in other postings: typical reaction from inbred EM management: mediocrities choosing sub-mediocrities to “lead” us until the whole company falls apart.

all I can say is - disgusting. I know so many hard working bright people held back by stupid red tape and policies (yes, i also know people from the other side of bell curve). I think after almost 2 decades, it's time to get ready to leave.

@tdd+1e8IWymK

I know you really must be in HR because you repeat all the very deceptive talking points we developed.

1. We changed the definition of “Market Competitive.” That the point of my Thea’s. We used to try to pay abode the 50th percentile. That’s how we were able to retain people even though we consistently told them they were in the bottom. We have now decided that the “lower portion of the bottom third” is still “market competitive.” It’s a lie, but it’s the perfect EM lie because we’ve never told anyone how we define market competitive.

2. “Within CL’s” - again, you’re are assuming that we correctly classify people. I can assure you we don’t. If you are underclassified, you are underpaid. This has always been true, of course, but it’s one of the lies we tell ourselves about compensation.

3. “For all rank groups” - this is another part of the change. The effect of the change to a 33rd percentile target will drastically change compensation over time for lower ranked employees. This is definitely a change - but we are hanging our hats on this line since some actually believe that other company’s must be paying low performers really low. This is totally unsupported by the salary studies and is just their assumption of “how things should be.” Maybe it should be that way, but it is a bit change to the prior system.

@upd+1e8IWymK - yes, it seems like plenty of people are willing to take a slight pay cut just so that they can get out of EM...I was thinking like that as well during my job search, however am lucky that I found something that provide similar compensation...for me getting similar compensation and don't have to go through the fake ranking system already enough...and also the toxic work culture with a lot of fake managers!

Yep, I'd rather be an average employee at a FAANG or other growing company in a growing industry, than HiPo at a backward company in a declining industry

The RSUs won’t be enough to keep the “high-potential” people around. In fact the overwhelming majority of people who have left voluntarily over the last 5 years have done so because of something non-monetary, like a lack of career growth or having no faith in such a bloated, mismanaged system. He-l I took a pay cut to get out. And it was one of my best choices.

@vlv+1e8IWymK why are you still working for a company you don’t believe in? Sell away your stock if you think EM is mismanaged. Why are you holding then? Lol

DW and EM will continue to do well. Because we will.

@gqs It all makes perfect sense if you jettison the assumption that corporations are run by competent, qualified people.

@plm Poe’s Law?

Sounds like a comment from a CL 23 HR person. CVX headcount is much lower than XOM because their chemical business is in a JV. CVX chemical headcount is "off the books"; So CVX gets profits from the JV without having to count heads. That is is why profit per person is higher than XOM. XOM headcount will continue to trend down as assets are sold off. The target on total compensation (including benefits and pension and savings plan) is still to be market competitive for all rank groups and CLs within the applicable market.

Massive personnel reductions to bring the OPEX in line with companies like Chevron are understandable, although obviously highly traumatic.
The problem for EM is that it can’t really differentiate between employees that add value and those who don’t, between high and low performers.
The ranking system is a joke, simply meant to perpetuate the rule of the management class. It’s one thing to treat preferentially your fellow managers and a very different one to start truly believing that they and only they keep the company afloat.
The focus is on keeping the HiPos in by giving them generous RSUs and cutting savagely the numbers of the non-sponsored. The problem is that at the same time the HiPos are taught that actual technical work is dirty and unworthy of them; they are supposed to “harvest” the work of the commoners. But the latter are less and less experienced, treated like dirt and leaving in droves; soon the HiPos will have to “harvest” in their shiny presentation to the management only work from contractors and vendors.
This is a self-annihilation strategy. As an employee I find the place toxic. As an investor, I consider it to be one of the worst managed large companies.

This is truly what CSnI is about. Continue reducing headcount, more offshoring, reducing costs by replacing older higher cost country employees with lower cost ones, pushing down work to lower CLs.

@gqs+1e8IWymK the question is who even wants to work for XOM? Only those that can't get out because of lack of current functional skills OR those that can't find employment anywhere else.

Seems this same reduction of salary curves was not imposed on the Executives, even when every m assure of their performance bottomed out.

DW should PIP himself.

We just have to accept that these fools at the top are intent on one thing and one thing only: “structural cost reductions” …. What a disgrace

Exxon knows that most current employees aren’t able to quit. So they treat them accordingly.

If Exxon was a capitalist company, they would just cut the salaries of all who don't perform or get rid of them altogether, and pay market for those who do. We are so bloated with "managers" who cant explain what value they add to the organisation.
However we are clearly run by socialists now. JD Rockefeller would be turning in his grave.

Someone has to be phased in to replace all the people who are about to quit. The new hires can be brought in at the new salary guidance, so will be much cheaper than legacy employees.