By Trixie Yap
SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Exxon Mobil Corp expects to cut staff numbers in Singapore by 10% to 15% and move its office to its Jurong plant on the island by the end of 2027, the company said on Wednesday, in a global restructuring effort.
The steps come after the U.S. major unveiled plans on Tuesday to lay off 2,000 workers globally, particularly in Canada and across the European Union, as part of long-term restructuring that will affect about 3% to 4% of its workforce.
“We are making changes to how we work, so we can improve our competitiveness in an ever-evolving landscape and position the business for future success,” Exxon Singapore said in an email.
The changes will reshape and restructure the primarily office-based organization, it added in the statement.
“While detailed planning is still underway and organisational design is not yet complete, we anticipate this will result in estimated employee redundancies of 10% to 15% by year-end 2027.”
The cuts could hit about 500 workers among roughly 3,500 Exxon employees in Singapore, but the company declined to cite a a specific figure.
Affected employees will be told by December, said two sources with direct knowledge of the matter, but the company declined to comment.
Singapore’s Economic Development Board said it would work closely with Exxon to support those affected.
In an email, the agency said the company would retain a significant business footprint in the city state, in areas such as manufacturing and trading.
The company, which began production this month at new facilities at its Singapore refinery complex to turn out base stocks from residue fuel, said it would keep its manufacturing presence in Singapore.
Exxon operates two refining sites, one at Pioneer Road on the mainland and the other on Jurong Island, with a combined crude processing capacity of 592,000 barrels per day.
It plans to move employees from its existing Harbour Front offices to the Jurong Refinery at Pioneer Road in new expanded facilities by the end of 2027, it said.
(Reporting by Trixie Yap; additional reporting by Emily Chow; Writing by Florence Tan; Editing by Tom Hogue and Clarence Fernandez)
