Layoffs coming for Exxon

DALLAS – The Dallas Morning News reports Oil giant and formerly Dallas-based ExxonMobil company is cutting 397 workers from recently acquired Pioneer Natural Resources, another blow to North Texas’ shrinking oil and gas sector. The layoffs come after ExxonMobil, which is based in the Houston suburb of Spring, completed its $59.5 billion purchase of Irving-based Pioneer in May. Exxon offered jobs to more than 1,900 workers at Pioneer. Exxon spokeswoman Michelle Gray said all the workers being laid off were offered other positions or declined to transfer to Exxon.

“The WARN notice was triggered due to the number of employees who have either been offered transition roles or who have declined offers to join ExxonMobil, and, in both cases, will be separated under the Pioneer Severance Plan,” Gray said in an email. “Our employment strategy has not changed — the success of this merger depends heavily on the retention of Pioneer’s talented workforce, and more than 1,900 Pioneer employees were offered jobs as part of the merger.” Exxon cut another 39 jobs from the Las Colinas offices in July, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. Most of the cuts will come at Pioneer’s Las Colinas office in Irving but a handful will come at other locations, including a site in Big Lake and others in Midland.