Thread regarding ExxonMobil Corp. layoffs

@1spq+1faYNbE9 you’re right, my talent coming out of college wasn’t in tech. I had 2 coding classes in college and that was it. So after 3.5 years of EMIT, self study, and LC I had the required experience and skill to go work for Google as a senior SWE and nearly quadrupled my total compensation. I certainly have a lot of room to grow, but I would consider myself as qualifying as a towards the top end tech talent. It appears you’re pretty condescending towards me, so you must be a HiPo then by your own logic? Not that a HiPo means much good, one of my friends was one and it really didn’t do much career wise except make them have longer hours.

And @1lhm+1faYNbE9 you can see the data on who has left the company in GRDB and why. Additionally, you should ask someone who you trust who works in HR or in HR IT to show you the data on PIP. There hasn’t been any age discrimination for ages PIPed or for ages who pass PIP vs fail.

I certainly can’t speak for every team, I’m not saying the company was perfect. I’m sure there are bad people and bad supervisors, as every company at XOM’s size can’t not have them. All I said was that NOT EVERYONE had a bad experience. For me it was a good place to work and I didn’t see most of the toxic culture people claim exists. And my friends all have/had similar experiences as I had. In my experience, the people who left before finishing PIP were the ones who knew they were going to fail it. The ones who passed were usually the ones who were bottom 25% but not necessarily bottom 8%. Again, I’m sure there were examples where this didn’t happen. But in my experience it worked pretty well.

@iwt+1faYNbE9
Correct…no upper half let go

However, I saw too many upper 3rd let go because of age or being verbal about legitimate problems. I also saw some of the worst somehow miss PIP entirely or pass PIP.

The takeaway is that management will cut almost anyone if it meets their targets. And the non-contributors sneak through the cracks, while the good employees keep their pride and quite.

Takeaway is that ExxonMobil is no longer wanting to be an employer for life. You have a couple of bad years….or your potential dips with age….and you will be in or flirting with that 8%. It’s a hard message if you think you’ve sacrificed for the company in the past or hope you’ve built some good will over your career. I saw a number of solid-worker RE folks struggle with it during the 2020 PIP. Sure, they won’t make executive. But they were mentors and hard workers, who had given their lives to the company. I would even describe several of them as active mentors, building younger employees understanding. Sure, they were a little jaded and salty, but you don’t need to be a teddy bear to teach those around you.

@iwt+1faYNbE9
We’re very impressed that you modestly assess yourself as “top end tech talent”, but arrogance and blindness to the obvious usually indicates management or iron clad HiPos.
You are right about one thing, though: EM doesn’t hire “top end tech talent” in IT. So you having ever worked for EM tells us that your talent wasn’t in tech. More likely in being condescendent to others, hallmark of management material at EM.

Well, if someone could PIP people like BK for saying that hotshot line, we may still have some hope.

And well, if we could say the same thing to him, that would give us some hope too!

@yod+1faYNbE9 Not everyone hated the culture. I honestly found XOM to be pretty nice and found everyone on here freaking out about PIP to be kinda annoying and overhyped. Every company fires people. Get over it. The only people I saw PIPed were people who just weren’t that talented. A few mistakes, where someone was bottom 25% but not necessarily bottom 8%, but overall pretty good at getting rid of uselessness. Never saw someone who actually was talented ever let go of. Most promotions in my experience were given to people who deserved them, with an occasional 1-2 political ones but overall pretty good. Every company has some degree of politics, I haven’t found Google to be any different. I did quit because XOM just pays poorly for top end tech talent. But that’s understandable, since XOM is not a tech company. Every non tech company pays their top talent poorly, because it doesn’t make sense to pay them a lot.

Anyone who defends and tries to justify XOM’s toxic culture, practices, employee behavior, and pathetic management attitude is a brain washed zombie. Yes, people should leave instead of complaining for too long, but that doesn’t make a wrong a right!

Anyone defending toxicity should be whipped 50 lashes in public as they are part of the problem.

Dude, it is not your job to fix the company. It is the management committee's. So, if you don't like it just resign and look for greener pastures elsewhere. Stop complaining. It doesn't help us. Just go and be happy.

If you believe this, why are you still working here?

The shake-up just happened. If you cannot see that, don’t realize the implications, or it is not enough….than I don’t know what makes you happy.