Why have they laid off good local employees but kept expats (in Houston)? I thought expats were expensive?
12 replies (most recent on top)
I agree the expate should be the first one to go. In my opinion having expates is an old business modal, we should not use it in our current time. Now we have well developed IT technology, Internet, communication system, by which a company can access any expertise in any country across world easily. The employe from one location can work together remotely, share ideas, share computer screens, can do Video conference etc. I means there are tons of remote technology resources available , which are way cheaper for bringing and using employees from different country to gather in a more cost effective way. I think all oil companies have to re-engineer their expat modal, should stop following the old modal blindly. and wasting millions of dollars in moving around people, when the same person can do the same job in his/ her home country, and still be reachable.
I'm sorry, but I don't understand why they still have so many expats here in Houston being paid crazy sums when good americans are losing to "job elimination". That doesn't make sense. I don't know what it costs to bring someone here to the U.S. from another country but to pay salary, rent, schooling, travel, moving expenses, and the lot. How many jobs could have been saved.
97443...You pegged COP management as best I have seen.
I do agree with Anonymous97739, if only two layers down of management ex-pats were eliminated in Canada, COP could probably saved at least 80% of the local talent.
Labor laws are of no concern to ConocoPhillips.
This thread has taken an interesting turn of which I am very interested. It sounds as if you are saying that a person could not be laid off unless their jobs were eliminated. If the job was eliminated, management should have made attempts to find jobs for the displaced staff. Also, justification for an ex-pat is that they are employed to do a job no one else can do.
I was a grade 15 with a strong performance record. I have never applied for a job. I was always sought out to employee due to my skills. Yet. . . I was laid off, and mgmt and HR refused to tell me why I was selected. Being one of the earlier laid off employees, I felt hurt & humiliated. After it became evident age and pay grade were targeted, I didn't take it so personally. Here's the strange part, though. . . My job was not eliminated. It was filled starting May 01 by a previous Staff Supervisor who was probably 10-15 years my junior. (At least they gave me the dignity of not replacing me with a new hire)! I was never told I could fill any other position. That would have been great.
Back to the Ex-pats . . . They were trained by someone (U.S.), so mgmt should not act like they are not replaceable when they cost considerably MORE.
In Canada, expats cost about 2.5 times a local employee. And yet, more than 80 percent of the expats have been retained. New roles have been created to save them. If they started getting a local salary, there would have been no need for job cuts.
COP had to certify to the USCIS that the expats were necessary since there were no American citizens or residents who could do the job. Any change in this paradigm (I.e., laying off Americans who can do or have done the job that the expat is in) nullifies the justification for the worker visa. So in essence, COP is an anti-American company!
Talk with your contacts to see if they actually tried to find you other positions prior to the layoff. My manager and HRBP lied to my face about talking with other BUs and functions. I have 3 managers who would have transferred me in had they or I known that I was going to be laid off prior to my notification on April 7th.
That is because the majority of managers and supervisors were chosen for their a$$ kissing ability rather than leadership skills. The cliques are the root of the problem...which starts at the top. Most of the expats are projects employees...and ConocoPhillips has one of the worst project organizations in the oil patch. Pucker up to survive at COP!
You are not the only one with that question. COP is a global company but my opinion is everything or everybody should be on the chopping block when it comes to layoffs.
You are not the only one with that question. COP is a global company but my opinion is everything or everybody should be on the chopping block when it comes to layoffs.
You are not the only one with that question. COP is a global company but my opinion is everything or everybody should be on the chopping block when it comes to layoffs.