Chevron will lay off thousands more workers, slash spending

As some of its largest investments start to cross the finish line in the coming months and years, the multinational oil giant headquartered in San Ramon, California will ratchet back its spending plans, focusing heavily on “high-return, short-cycle investments”, deferring some projects, and reducing its workforce to match lower levels of activity, Watson said. The company plans to cut between 6,000 and 7,000 total jobs across the globe, some of which will happen in Australia, where two projects — the Gorgon and the Wheatstone — are starting to wind down. That total job loss number includes the 1,500 positions already trimmed from Chevron’s payroll, including 950 in Houston, spokesman Cam Van Ast said. Chevron has also cut jobs in the Marcellus Shale, where it has pared back drilling, and the North Sea. But other jobs may be lost as Chevron continues selling off assets that no longer fit into the company’s portfolio or strategy. In addition to its in-house job cuts, Chevron plans to slash an equal number of contractors as it hustles to reduce costs and revamp its spending budget amid the worst industry downturn in years. With crude and natural gas prices showing no signs of rebounding soon, Chevron plans to trim its capital and exploratory expenditures in 2016 by roughly 25 percent and will consider curtailing spending plans in 2017 and 2018 as well, depending on the market conditions...more