Chevron Plans to Cut 7,000 Jobs

Chevron Sign and Flag Elaine ThompsonAP
Elaine Thompson/AP

Chevron plans to cut up to 7,000 jobs for the next two years due to low oil prices. Capital and exploratory projects will be delayed as well.

“With the lower investment, we anticipate reducing our employee workforce by 6-7,000,” stated Chairman and CEO John Watson.

The energy company employs around 64,700 people. A cut of 7,000 people reduces the workforce by 11%.

Chevron is based in San Ramon, CA, but has offices in Houston, Singapore, and London. They did not announce exactly where all the cuts will take place, but 600 jobs have already been eliminated in California this year.

“We are working on reducing costs throughout the company,” explained Watson.

Watson also said the company wants to cut spending “to the $20 to $24 billion range” in 2017 and 2018. Chevron will only give $25 to $28 billion for capital and exploration in 2016, which is “25 percent below the budget for 2015.” San Jose Mercury News reported their upstream division, which includes exploration, only earned “$59 million in the third quarter, down 98.7 percent from year-ago profits $4.65 billion.”

Chevron earned a profit in downstream, which includes refinery and retail, with $2.21 billion, “up 59.4 percent from the year-ago third quarter.”

In July, Chevron announced plans to eliminate 950 jobs in Houston in 2015. They employ 8,000 people in Houston, which is 1,000 less from two years ago.

Chevron, started to release people in mid-October.

Only a few years ago Chevron hoped to expand in Houston by moving hundreds of San Ramon jobs to the Gulf coast and building a tower in downtown. But those plans were bumped until 2016.

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