As profits shrink: Chevron cuts jobs, Exxon slashes costs

Chevron is cutting up to 7,000 jobs, or 11 percent of its workforce, the latest indication of the toll that low oil prices are taking on the industry.

The two biggest U.S. oil companies reported huge profits for the third quarter. Chevron Corp. said Friday that it earned $2 billion, and Exxon Mobil Corp. earned more than $4.2 billion.

But those profits are down sharply from a year ago. Chevron’s profit was 64 percent lower than last year’s third quarter; Exxon’s profit fell 47 percent, its worst third quarter since 2003.

Both companies are slashing costs to boost profits. Chevron plans to cut capital and exploratory spending next year by one-fourth, with further cuts in 2017 and 2018.

That will include cutting the workforce by 6,000 to 7,000 jobs and shedding a similar number of contract workers, said Chairman and CEO John Watson. Many of the layoffs will be in Australia, and an unspecified number will be in the U.S. Chevron has 64,700 employees.

Exxon doesn’t announce job cuts, and a spokesman declined to say whether the company had reduced its headcount in response to low oil prices.

Oil prices have fallen from over $100 per barrel in June 2014 to under $50 this month, and prices for natural gas have also dropped sharply. Watson said prices will eventually rise as production slows in response to low prices, but he said it was hard to know when that will happen.

Many industry experts agree, but the downturn in prices has lasted longer than most had expected.

“In the long run the industry can’t survive on $45 oil. There’s not enough money to reinvest, and that will eventually impact supply down the road,” said Brian Youngberg, an Edward Jones analyst.

When oil prices rise, Youngberg said, oil companies going through the current downturn will be more cautious about hiring and undertaking big projects.

California-based Chevron said third-quarter income plunged to $2.04 billion, or $1.09 per share, down from $5.6 billion, or $2.95 per share, a year ago. Revenue fell 37 percent to $34.32 billion despite an uptick in production.

Irving-based Exxon, which owns XTO Energy in Fort Worth, reported third-quarter net income of $4.24 billion, or $1.10 per share. Revenue fell 37 percent to $67.34 billion.

Exxon’s profit from exploration and production dropped from $6.5 billion to $1.4 billion, including a loss of $442 million in the U.S. Howeverearnings from refining and selling petroleum products jumped from $1 billion to $2 billion on higher refining margins.

Exxon slashed third-quarter capital and exploration spending by about one-fifth from a year ago.

This story was originally published October 30, 2015 at 10:24 AM with the headline "As profits shrink: Chevron cuts jobs, Exxon slashes costs."