Thread regarding Chevron Corp. layoffs

CTC worrying about triple crown is the downfall of CTC and any real innovation and value. We did the song and dance for awhile to appease the chambers, but it’s a new day now. People are not as afraid to speak up about the uselessness of it. The reality is that we went backwards many years while other companies moved ahead. I have no idea how much we’re spending on the project, but the whole thing seems costly and does not help our business become competitive. These platform product managers know it deep down

@adtr: You are only partially correct. CTC/ETC had a long history of technical contributions back in the day, and was closely involved with forward-looking research and new developments across the corporation. That said, our current business focus has narrowed to factory drilling of unconventional plays and mature conventional assets, many of our real technical exports left with generous packages during previous layoffs during a time when there was little effort at technical transfers to succeeding generations, and management has further diluted CTC talent pool by dumping marginal managerial talent and returning ex-pats and BU misfits with atrophied technical skills. The result is that CTC can't deliver the same level of direct contributions to the bottom line of current BUs (not a surprise!). Our deplorable exploration record and marginal new venture ideas further diminish our need for technical expert group support. The answer is not to rotate CTC experts in and out of BU "factories" but rather for the company to either embrace the need for real new technology development aimed at future business ventures or to mimic smaller oil companies in assuming that we can buy talent and technology down the road if needed rather than developing it in house. I would add that historically large companies that have tried the latter model have done less well than those that strive to be technology leaders (e.g., compare BP to Exxon), but becoming a technology leader, agile enough to beat the competition into new opportunities, requires a forward vision that I am not convinced our current Sr. management possesses.

CTC/ETC are vestiges of Big Oil in the 1990's - lots of money around allowed the majors to fund "research" departments (ROI on that "research" was terrible, for all companies), which also acted maybe a quarter of the time as technical support. In the present, there is precious little "research" either funded or going on. It's all tech support now. If we truly wanted an effective tech support unit, we would rotate BU people into CTC, and vice versa, to maximize experience and exposure to real-world problems and budgets/deadlines. That we don't do that relegates CTC to ineffectiveness, which goes hand-in-hand with high cost/benefit ratio, hence all the BU complaints. Add to that CTC is just a dumping ground for returning expats and failed BU managers.

Struggle to see the value in the CTC model. They are not providing industry leading services.

Please don't propose eliminating entire departments. I work late, collaborate with other BUs, harden cybersecurity to protect the company, upskill in a dynamic environment. For the people I've collaborated with in other BUs, they exhibited chevron way partnership behaviors and not department elimination.

If my job wasn't important, maybe I wouldn't have to work late, get contacted left/right. If I could prevent just one cybersecurity breach, it could save the company millions and make me net positive on my salary for life. However, because there's nothing eventful when systems are swcure and reliable, i can understand why other departments might ask "what are we paying you for?" Just know, I stay busy and I spare BUs the play by play of my activities so they can focus on their job.

Guys, theres no need to attack other departments. There's enough revenue for us all to prosper and collaborate.

I agree travel may be more expensive than it is beneficial for some, especially since virtual meetings evolved.

CERAWeek2024. You want to save costs and enable CVX to do more with less? Cut sending managers and facilitators to such expensive venues that only help them grow their personal networks.

If you constantly need to justify your existence in the organisation, maybe your not as essential as you think. Majority of CTC are just salesmen.

CTC does too much R&D in the name of innovation. They don’t know how to turn those things into anything practical for business units. By the time that “innovation” becomes practical, it’s already commodity in the form of SLB services. CTC people worrying about IP and publishing papers, not making money for chevron.

There is no travel without a contract with a BU that will pay for the travel for worker bees in CTC. For managers, their costs go to CTC overhead which is spread among all the BUs and some held at corporate. Managers are generally encouraged to travel more, not less, because most are content to sit at their desk in Houston and have no clue what their customers need.

Over my years in ETC/CTC I have worked many projects for which the BU's did not have the needed expertise (particularly heavy oil and expensive frontier exploration) , but yes I agree that more recently when all the BU's are doing in pattern drilling shale or incremental step outs in mature fields the need for CTC decreases. Go ahead, make my day, and initiate another layoff: My hand will be first up expressing interest.

Back inthe old days of ETC, this was a common practice to have a budget separate for travel, it was no Brainerd and should not be now, the issue is that you guys do not learn from past and think you are genius and can run a company while you can not even run a basic concessions stand in a high school. Running a business is very different than graduating from a university and having a degree!

The problem with CTC is that it exists

"reduce travel costs CTC mgt"... it has been this way forever: Need to cut CTC expenses focus mostly on travel and training costs since most other costs are more fixed (without layoffs). The sad part is, in many cases, travels restrictions inhibit core CTC functions like technology development, competitor monitoring, and BU interactions. Very short sighted bean counting. Sad that management is unable to focus on a long term strategy of finding and developing more oil & gas.

I’d like to see the ROCE on CTC

@2prw, you would be quite incorrect. Any travel not requested and funded by the BU is met with extreme scrutiny.

My experience over many years, is that CTC/ETC are always pushing for a trip away from Houston. It is rare for the BU to request the presence of a central "expert". Been saying for long time that BU should approve travel.

Seems like a fair move to me. CTC is not a profit center and has to meet OPEX targets. Most CTC travel is per BU request so it makes sense that the OPEX should show up on the BUs books alone. Some of you are just so obsessed with hating CTC that you come up with any innocuous reason to whine. Here's an idea, if BUs hate CTC so much then stop freaking using them!

Less travel more zoom. Of course, this doesn't apply to SM. They will be jetting around as usual.

MW is a disaster and needs to go. His unhealthy obsession with the dividend and shareholders is destroying the company. Has he not learned from Southwest, Boeing and so many other companies that extreme cost cutting just destroys the company

MW has asked all units to cut travel costs including CTC and BUs. BUs are no doubt looking for a way to charge their travel to someone else as well. Musical chairs.

BUs detest CTC (and its predecessors) because the charge-back model cannot compete with outside consultants. Say what you will about having in-house "experts" (few are), they are just too expensive. Charge travel to the BUs? You aren't leaving downtown Houston, CTCers!

And we wonder why BUs hate CTC, EMC, etc.

This companies management is out of touch and upside down to try to cuts costs. MW and management hate IT and want to cut deep while still demanding the technology that makes this company run. They will be desperate to outsource and be un-American going forward.