Chevron Phillips Chemical Trims 130 Jobs, Primarily Involving Corporate Roles: Report

Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. (CPChem) has reportedly trimmed about 130 jobs in a new round of reductions happening through the Texas oil and chemicals sector.

According to a Bloomberg News report, citing people familiar with the matter, the cuts at CPChem, which is a 50-50 joint venture between Chevron Corp. (CVX) and Phillips 66 (PSX), primarily involve corporate roles and not those at chemical plants. The roles include those of information technology, supply-chain management, and logistics.

The report added that the employees who were affected by the layoffs were informed in early August. Managers notified the employees via video call on August 1, Bloomberg said, adding that they were offered severance and transition-support services.

The move to cut jobs comes after several months assessing options regarding what kind of work could be transferred to vendors or overseas, and was just within weeks of CPChem moving into the headquarters in the Houston suburb of The Woodlands, the report said. “These changes reflect opportunities to outsource, centralize work, optimize leader spans of control and reduce organizational layers,” CEO Steve Prusak wrote in an internal email to employees, according to Bloomberg.

The report noted that the CEO said this was the first step to ensure CPChem’s organizational structure aligned with industry realities and was prepared for what is ahead. Earlier this year, Chevron laid out plans to cut 20% of its global workforce by the end of 2026. 

Retail sentiment on Chevron remained in the ‘bearish’ territory on Wednesday, with chatter at ‘low’ levels, according to Stocktwits data. Chevron stock has gained over 7% so far this year.

Meanwhile, sentiment on Phillips 66 dipped to ‘bearish’ from ‘neutral’ a day ago, with message volumes at ‘low’ levels. Phillips 66 shares have jumped 6.3% year-to-date.

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