In This Story
Chevron (CVX-2.86%) plans to let go of nearly 800 employees in Texas, according to a notice sent Wednesday to the Texas Workforce Commission.
The layoffs, scheduled to take effect on July 15, will occur in Midland County, where Chevron maintains significant operations in the Permian Basin — the largest oil-producing region in the United States.
The Texas-based oil major first announced its plans to downsize its global workforce in February. It aims to reduce its headcount by 20% by the end of 2026, citing the need to cut costs and streamline operations. In a separate notice filed in March, Chevron also revealed plans to lay off at least 600 employees in California, effective June 1.
Chevron has faced increasing pressure in recent months.
In March, U.S. President Donald Trump’s government revoked its license to operate in Venezuela. Chevron cannot operate oilfields in the country or export its oil, with the aim of avoiding sending any payments to President Nicolas Maduro’s administration. Chevron had previously been exporting up to 290,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Venezuelan oil before the sanction—equivalent to around a third of the country’s total.
On top of that, there’s ongoing uncertainty surrounding its proposed $53 billion acquisition of Hess (HES-3.24%), an oil company based in New York. Though Hess shareholders and the Federal Trade Commission finally approved the deal, it’s not all the way done due to an arbitration dispute with Chevron’s competitor, ExxonMobil (XOM-3.05%).
The latter’s Stabroek Block, a giant oil discovery off the coast of Guyana, is tied up in arbitration proceedings because Exxon thinks it has a right to take back Hess’s 30% stake in the event the company sold itself. Chevron disputes this.
On top of this, Chevron filed a change-of-address form last August, moving its headquarters from San Ramon, California, to Houston, Texas. The relocation is connected to a lawsuit from the oil giant’s longtime home state alleging that it misled the public for decades about its connection to climate change, The New York Times (NYT+0.23%) reports.