XOM employee here who was at a different company that was acquired by a company other than XOM and I took the severance. I then ended up at XOM.
- Yes, this su-ks, period. Your whole world has been turned upside down due to forces you can’t control. It’s normal to be pi---d at the execs lining their pockets with the pain of uncertainty and movement. Once you yell into the void, start focusing on what you can control.
- XOM has 5 empty buildings on campus. This is not going to be welcome news but just telling the facts. With XTO it took them 10 years before they moved people to Houston. Given the open office space I think it would be a lot faster for Pioneer.
- PIPs are a real thing but since it’s forced ranking there are a couple of options. If you have a good manager, you will still have a job after the forced indignity that they involve. They didn’t want to give you a PIP, and they’ll see you through it. If you have an AH for a manager, it’s better to take the 6 weeks of pay. The manager will give you unreachable goals and you’ll be let go. However you could just phone it in for 12 weeks and get the pay while you look for work.
- The UNCON / XTO crew still has the culture that it sounds like Pioneer has. If you get moved into that area, it won’t be as big of a culture shock. XOM proper is a nightmare of a bureaucracy and my goal is never to take an assignment outside of UNCON.
- XOM employees aren’t necessarily excited about this either. My guess is Pioneer attracted good talent given how much people liked working there. We’ll be competing against you all during the eventual culling. There is not a lot of official communications happening on our side.
- My advice is to actively feel out your options. What jobs are available in your area, what options are available in the new world. If this happens, I doubt isn’t forced moves would happen in the first 12 months.
- Bonus advice, 12 months of severance is awesome but it can go fast. I saw people burn through their severance because they weren’t responsible about it and they didn’t hit the ground running when it came to looking for a job. I took several contract jobs to reduce the burn rate on my severance.
If I think of any more useful information I’ll post. Best of luck.
Reposted from @qen+1p0T0kpB for great info.