Thread regarding ConocoPhillips layoffs

I told you this would happen

@fv Thats been said for the past decade or more since the split. . . . .ain't gonna happen

CP will do this "RIF" Reduction In Force to thin out the ranks, then the next move will be a sellout to ExxonMobil or Chevron!

@cd No offense to anyone that works there or has made their home there, but from a completely neutral standpoint, it doesn't make sense to operate there. Yes buildings may be owner and no taxes paid there, but cost of maintenance, electrical, security, janitorial, sending people to and from there on travel. . . . just doesn't make sense when you have made your hdqtr in h-town. Fine labor may be slightly cheaper there, but that cost savings isn't even a blip on the radar at company rollup level. All B-ville is is spreading resources thinner, having an unnecessary division there between teams, and maintaining a location that doesn't add strategic value.

The only saving grace that I do not know about is if somehow we book revenue in OK vs TX that we pay less in overall company tax. Maybe this is irrelevant. Someone with some real knowledge could chime in here.

@bb - I don’t understand why that would happen. I thought the consolidation was about consolidating functions, not necessarily locations. I’ve been hearing that BVL is closing for the past twenty years.

@b6 I made it to a junior level leader started 2011. 25% is bananas. Where does this all end? It seems like with everyone out on the street. What in the ever living world game are we playing? I guess I made it to 36 and fear for all the younger people.

I graduated in 2011 and feel like I got so luck and threaded the needle. I dodge 2009 and survived 2015. At least then there was a reason. Now it's just plain greed. These people won't stop even when they have it all. What more do they want? Good lord this is abysmal.

@b4 this is the best you’ve got?
DEI?
Who did you lose your promotion to?

That article reads that they’ve taken the same McKinsey playbook from Phillips 66 and are running with it.

It all sounds great a the ELT and leaders groups levels, but as an IC, that getting rid of work just means that it comes back in other ways with less people to do it.

Hey now, those consultants are the cream of the crop and management are uber smart to observe what they copy/paste into slide decks. Anything less than paying them tens of millions for readily available information is simply unsophisticated!

I’d pay $100 to someone who asks about the CPI calculator at tomorrow’s townhall. You’re a GD genius Private Gump!

https://x.com/wifi_moneyx/status/1962848084603662754?s=42

Controllable costs rose from $11 to $13 from 2021 to present.

Hello CPI inflation calculator , what is the buying power of $11 in 2021 in today’s dollars?

Must be nice to be a consultant and get paid for this work

@b6 I will be shocked if Bville survives this. Everything over the last year has said centralize services, staff functions, etc. My best guess is from the video, when they said by the end of 2026, is referring to winding down Bville. With consolationed roles and fat trimming, there is enough space to consolidate into SP1/2. The writing has been on the wall.

@b6 I can confirm tax is going to go through major changes

Bartlesville will be the new Ponca. RIP to up mid and senior level tax roles.

@b0 Well someone has to play on the pinball machine that the company bought for us. Why would they buy it if they didn't want us to play it?

@ak I could debate what non-value adding work is and whether it must get done. I have to wipe my a$$ everyday, it isn't value add to my day, but it is something I must do. Not all work is glamorous "value add", but some things have to be done. Cut red tape and you cut 'non value add' work. A lot of junk gets done bcz we have brought it upon ourselves and created bureaucracy.

@ah Have you ever walked around a corporate office before?

It’s a big number but they did buy two companies, and acquired a major asset from a third company in the last 3.5 years. Which I think is where this is coming from

Retired employee here. Layoffs happened on average every 4 or 5 years for the 40 years I worked in E&P. It's a routine part of workforce management, usually timed to coincide with lower oil and gas prices or major acquisitions.

Lots of organizations (for example most law firms, consultancies, CPA firms, investment banks, etc as well as every branch of the US armed services) have up-or-out workforce management practices. ConocoPhillips doesn't use that approach, so they have periodic layoffs.

Leadership Forum level managers are usually hit harder by layoffs than the general workforce.

@aq LOL

So 25% of executives too?

@am watch the market. Shares didn't drop due to layoff news.

@ah There isn’t 20%–25% unnecessary work. The ELT simply wants to pocket those extra cashflows. Which is why our shares dropped. Shareholders doubt the company can maintain performance with a 20%–25% reduction in workforce. They expect we'll cut corners everywhere.

25% would be a good start. We have a poorly managed workforce at all levels. We allowed ourselves to staff for non value-adding work. We have some great people. Unfortunately, we only truly need about 60% of our current workforce to do the real work. Sadly, we won't make the right decisions on who goes and who stays.

My question is: how does a company end up with 20-25% too many employees?
I know they’re saying they’re going to eliminate unnecessary work but it seems impossible to me to have that much unnecessary work.

“Competitive Edge,” what a #joke. COP has and will never be competitive. What it will be is “assets sold” and “out of existence.”