Word is, it is happening again. Heads up.
23 replies (most recent on top)
Noble - you just got Putt'd, LAMO, that guy was pouring coffee for a living not too long ago because he could not get a job, winner winner chicken dinner
Layoffs are a symptom of incompetent management. They are costly, demoralize the staff and indicate linear thinking by the executives (the market only goes up). Any oil industry exec worth their pay should have seen this downturn coming and taken steps to mitigate it's impact. The fact these clowns didn't is proof they don't have what it takes to lead. To the investors: If you want to fix this company keep the staff, if you seek to hold someone accountable for a failed business plan terminate the executive team.
So, Chief Dave, assistant Chief Ken, EVP of GAP Cunningham, and EVP of Numbers Willingham will claim they exceeded their own expectations in laying off sooner than peer companies that did not have to have layoffs. Then they can claim even better performance for a second round laying off drones because the Chiefs and EVP's don't need as many people to take care of our nonexistent new ventures since the deals those Chiefs and EVP's signed aren't economic with under $80 oil and because the Marcellus JV was a bust to start with and because Rosetta was a really shitty idea and because ops in DJ have slowed to almost nothing. Oh but the Falklands is committed to be busy through maybe January drilling under noneconomic terms and we have Rosetta and a Putt. Dave Ken Susan and Gary should be rolling in big money next March.
just is.... you hit the nail on the head. Noble has been exposed as the "house of cards" it is.
Oh, don't be mistaken, Rosetta management did not take care of its employees. The promotions and big bumps in pay for rosetta employees were a "stick it to the man". Rosetta execs were forced to sell the company or be faced with watching it go under, taking all their wealth with it. Rosetta was not happy to sell at all. The big increases in pay for the staff and the larger severance were a way to make the buying company (Noble) in effect pay more. As the merger negotiations went on and the discussions became tense, the Rosetta execs found a way to get one last laugh in. It was not at all done for the benefit of anyone working at Rosetta but more as a "I will show you" by the Rosetta executives. Keep in mind, Rosetta knew they would not have to pay the inflated salaries or the big severance packages. It was all going to be on Noble's dime Just like when you eat out on expense account, you don't really care what anything costs as someone else will be picking up the tab
Isn't nice to know how well Rosetta' s management team took care of their employees... while Noble's management team basically threw their loyal employees under the bus. Noble employees and shareholders deserve much better than these incompetent morons who are running the company. I would have to include Noble's board of directors also.
When the tide goes out everyone gets to see who is swimming naked. Oil prices are down and will stay that way for 12 to 24 months. The path to profitability revolves around lowering capex and opex while increasing revenue growth. Sure, companies can turn the overhead knob and layoff a bunch of people. Doing that is just window dressing and does very little to make progress toward profitability in a lower price oil market. Any oil company can lay off 100% of the staff and that will not solve anything in the long run. For the poorly run companies, it is the only knob they know how to turn. EOG is much better run and knows it's focus needs to be on operating metrics and improving project returns vs laying people off. When the industry is booming everyone looks like a good company. The advantage now is that we know which ones are not managed well.
It looks almost exactly like an unsolicited backdoor violation without lube.
What does the severance package look like for laid off Noble employees?
Layoffs are all about lowering costs. The rosetta employees have a severance package that is 2 to 3 times more depending on grade level than the Noble employees. It is much cheaper to layoff the Noble employees than pay the higher cost of the rosetta severance plan. Therefore, we will not see any rosetta employees laid off. It is just the numbers. While it should not be that way, the extra cost to layoff the rosetta people will keep them safe
So nrg bull lets talk about the companies in Noble's peer group that have not had any layoffs. Anadarko, EOG, PDC, Whiting, QEP, SM Energy... there are others. Noble is working on their third lay-off of the year. Then these brilliant tacticians went a bought a company (Rosetta) that they clearly could not afford to do... and by most accounts way overpaid for Rosetta. Furthermore this acquisition will be a drag on Noble for years to come. Then laid-off loyal Noble employees to make the deal work. Brought in these Rosetta employees, who apparently make 25% more than their Noble counterparts, and I am told don't know what they are doing, and we should not make any comments about how poorly Noble is run? The reason these other companies have not had any layoffs is because they are much better at what they do that Noble is! They are successful! As a Noble employee we are all paying the price for this poorly run company.
A WARN notice isn't a prerequisite. They can have a layoff and add 60 days to the severance.
Nag Bull is part right and part not. The oil patch is cyclical and layoffs are a fact of life in a down market. They will occur and continue to recur until prices return to acceptable levels. This could take several quarters even years. In the meantime surviving one cut doesn't mean you are home free, it only guarantees more time to implement your survival plan. If you don't have a plan better make one fast or risk being road kill. Yes, the process is stressful. It can and will leave you feeling powerless, but don't be a victim. Being proactive helps you deal with the stress and opens opportunities. Where Nag Bull is wrong is thinking Noble's processes are rational and logical. Noble may have the appearance and trappings of a large company, but it is run on the whims of the few. Processes were not designed to insure sound decisions, instead they are used to justify the whims. Employees who question these illogical decisions have and will be punished, this includes termination. Better than Rosetta? Perhaps, but it's not a safe environment.
Stover promised Humpback results in 3rd quarter. The well spud June 5, and if the rig has not moved then, that is going to be a very expensive well for Noble and Edison. Earnings release is Nov 2, so we will see. November 2 would be too late for a 60-Day WARN notice on a 2015 layoff.
Hey, let's all get real. This is the oil patch and the business cycle is not strong now. Layoffs are going to happen and happen everywhere. And if you ever have worked for the "rosetta" type oil companies maybe you would appreciate Noble a little better. At rosetta there were many "random acts of firings"...which were not performance related. They could happen anywhere, anytime and were often triggered by volatile management who would just get hacked off or be in a bad mood and if you caught them on a bad day your number could be called. Then, there were the people who received bad performance reviews that were mysteriously pulled off the evaluation period when their buddy in management caught wind of it. There was no rational or logic for what happened. It really really could be much worse people
Rosetta employees are not safe, they can still get laid off just Iike the rest of the noble employees, they don't have contracts. Above info is false. No one is safe, including Rosetta employees.
Noble has no soul to sell.
Only selling its soul.
only ones safe are the new Rosetta ones per contract when deal was made, which means more of us loyal Noble ones are given the walk of shame...does not make sense to me as the rosetta ones ran their company into the ground and at least Noble does not have to sell itself to stay afloat
Happy Holidays.
Heard first week of November
This week?
Lame post dude. That is kinda what everyone up to this point has said. Its like saying oil prices are low right now, duh. Give us actionable intelligence wing nut.