Here is my story and predicament. If anyone has gone through what I am going through please post. I don't need the sarcastic remarks about how exxon wants me out because I know that. I am 54 and on DPC plan with 13 years service. I was told that if they don't see enough improvement I could be piped or terminated. I am doing what they want but the manager keeps nit picking my efforts and focusing on extraneous goals. I was told they would write up my progress and the manager would decide. One of my old friends went through this a few years ago and was told the same things. In the end he was passed and made it to 57 and retired. I don't know if they are bluffing or really going to try to get rid of me before I can retire. I asked all of my old exxon retirees if any employee was terminated during NRE years and they all said no. Exxon could fire me and I can still retire with several million in the bank now so I am not that worried. i still want to get my lump sum and medical though. Any helpful advice from those being squeezed.
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Your supervisor just trying to score some points by getting you to quit before you get your pension and benefits. You have the control. Sac up.
If this is really the case then there should be no distinction between NRE and the rest. Exxon should get rid of the NRE class if this is true. In supervisor training years ago we were told to avoid nsi ing those from age 50 and up. I guess things have changed for the worst. I guess now the new retirement age is in the forties so no one can make it to retirement. There has to be some reason for this NRE distinction otherwise exxon would pip those 52 thru 54 and get rid of them. It is sick corrupt place remember that always. We are truly year to year contractor with no guarantee of a career.
Alot of dpc I am seeing over 55. Make them push you out. It’s hard I know. Especially if you have been transparent and working. Stay as long as you can. That will tick off the people who have been working against you.
It is the loss of the lump sum and the medical benefits. Subsidized medical is expensive and the lump sum alone could be a million dollars. Exxon saves a lot of money by getting rid of you before 55. Ageism is real and we are protected above age 40. The unfair firings in the 70's and 80's by exxon led to lawsuits they could not win. Imagine an older worker pip fired because of supposed performance issues. We know the ranking system is rigged and unfair. We will see how far exxon will go to get rid of employees. If this becomes the norm I for see a lot more wrongful termination lawsuits. If you feel you are being unfairly targeted and forced out contact an employment lawyer. There are several in the houston area that will gladly take a case against exxon. If you are being forced out at nre keep all documentation and correspondence between you the supervisor and HR. Most attorneys will not take a case that does not involve termination say you are passing pip or dpc.
Someone said 1 million worth of annuitant benefits. Is this true the annuitant benefit worth that much? Like say you live to 80 after 55, so 35 years worth company subsidized health benefits. I have no idea how much it's worth but it cant be 30k a year,can it? Am I missing something?
How much improvement and who judges? It looks like a fixed game to me. How are we forced to resign exactly? I would not sign anything without contesting the findings plan and consulting a lawyer. My understanding was DPC was to improve performance somewhat while pip was to significantly improve performance. I dont know of anyone who failed DPC in the past. Who knows of any employee that was let go because of this situation?
for NREs who are NSI, they are placed on a DPC first. Only if they fail to show improvement on the DPC (at the end of the 3 month eval period), THEN they are placed on a PIP. I assume the PIP is another 3 months. Basically, NREs are given two shots before they are let go. If they fail the PIP, the are forced to resign.
One aspect everyone needs to understand is if you are NSI three times in a five year period, on the third NSI, you will be fired, regardless if you are NRE or not.
Former exxon supervisor in Permian now with another company. I attended exxons training for supervisors at EMHC and learned it was very hard to outright fire an employee. This was due to the loss of earning potential and benefits. We were told the only way to get rid of employees was the nsi or pip process. Even with the pip everything had to be documented. We could either make the plan easy or hard depending on if exxon wanted to keep the employee. When it came to nres we were told we were told make it possible so the employee reached retirement eligibility. After RE they were free game to be piped. I specifically remember all of the nres passing. This was maybe 5 years ago so things may have changed. We were told the reason for nre status was due to lawsuits filed back in the 70s or 80s by employees let go near retirement. My advice is do what is asked and document everything. The documentation is your ammunition for challenging the pip. All documentation is also needed in case you have to sue. Exxon hates lawsuits and evidence that would prove you were forced out. I never made the pips hard and passed everyone. I was forced out because I did not nsi my employees for two years. I told the manager no one on my team deserves pip. I was forced to resign and they put someone in my place that would do exxons bidding. From what I remember nre employees were untouchable and just dpc eligible. Contest everything and don't sign anything without adding your comments challenging the findings. Keep all emails of your accomplishments and flood your supervisor with updates. Doing this should keep you put of trouble. Good luck it sounds bad now.
My lawyer will only act if I am to be terminated. I don't sign anything without him looking over it. All documents are reviewed by him as well. I stand to lose at least a million in benefits and he doesn't believe exxon would risk this. Anyway if I have to leave I can live on my several million dollar 401k. It would sue exxon if I am forced out before I can retire. It would not look good to a jury regarding the money exxon would save by firing me before RE. I have 2 years left and it has been he-l. My lawyer believes we will win the case and he is in it for the damages and money. Let's see how ruthless exxon is.
The plan they give must be specific and achievable (SMART). Keep copies of everything and a copy of your job description. I hope it all works out for you - best of luck. You might want to think about talking with an attorney, just in case. Be careful what you sign.
With the insurance getting cr-ppier every year, the annuitant status isn’t as attractive as it used to be.
Nobody listened when I said this before - so here it is again: the rules changed THIS YEAR from HR and now you can get put on a PIP if you don’t do well enough on your DPC. If you are only NRE and not RE, you will NOT be given annuitant status if you are separated. Be careful. Some good advice was given here in the comments, suggest you follow it.
I understand the pip process because you need to follow the pip plan and if you don't complete it completely you fail. I thought the dpc plan was just for improvement and all you needed to do was show improvement. One of my old exxon friends went through dpc in 2021 and he passed just doing his normal work. He was piped a few years later and retired. It makes no sense to put you through he-l just to try to follow the plan if they are making it he-l for you. Supposedly the dpc is to improve you as an employee. I think they are trying to pi-s you off so you will leave asap. I don't think they would dare fire you at this point. I would document everything and challenge their objections. Good luck I was piped years ago and decided to retire.
@OP Here’s what I would do:
1) Document everything that’s being told to you, including the instructions for tasks, your work output, and the supervisor responses. Request that the supervisor relay instructions in writing whenever possible.
2) Record your in-person conversations with supervisors and management. If you’re in TX, you do not need to notify the other party because TX is a one-party consent state, and you alone can be the consenting party.
3) Use the transcript function in Zoom/Teams for virtual meetings. Also do screen grabs of any chats you have on Teams/Slack/etc.
It sounds like they’re attempting constructive dismissal based on what you said. This is easier to prove than many managers seem to think it is. If it keeps up, consider consulting a licensed attorney to discuss potential legal options.
They will need to give you annunitant benefits if they lay you off at this age. You won't be terminated, you will be retiring. You will get your medial benefits.