American second most valuable energy company to lay off 20% of employees

Chevron, the second-largest US oil company, has announced plans to lay off up to 20 percent of its global workforce.

The move is part of a broader cost-cutting initiative to streamline operations and improve long-term competitiveness.

“Chevron is taking action to simplify our organizational structure, execute faster and more effectively, and position the company for stronger long-term competitiveness,” said Mark Nelson, vice chairman of Chevron, in a statement. “We do not take these actions lightly and will support our employees through the transition.”

Chevron will reduce its workforce by 15% to 20%, according to a statement from the company’s vice chairman Mark Nelson provided by a company spokesperson (Reuters first reported on the layoffs).

The company had 45,511 employees as of October 2023, according to Chevron’s most recent proxy statement, meaning the layoffs will impact roughly 6,830 to 9,100 jobs.

“Changes to the organisational structure will improve standardization, centralization, efficiency and results,” explained Nelson.

The layoffs will begin this year and be mostly complete by the end of 2026, according to Nelson.

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Chevron did not comment on the primary areas of the company affected by the layoffs.

“Responsible leadership requires taking these steps to improve the long-term competitiveness of our company for our people, our shareholders and our communities,” Nelson concluded his statement.

Chevron is the second-most valuable American energy company, trailing only Exxon Mobil, and its more than $270 billion market capitalization makes it the U.S.’ 28th-largest public company.

In November, Mike Wirth, CEO of Chevron hinted to Bloomberg that the company’s $3 billion of cost-cutting initiatives would be a “small part of the total” savings.

Chevron has employees across 51 countries, but 57 percent of Chevron’s workforce are on U.S. payrolls as of October 2023.

Chevron scored a record profit of $36.5 billion in 2022 as energy companies globally enjoyed as oil prices shot up after Russia invaded Ukraine, but its net income pulled back to $21.4 billion in 2023 and $17.7 billion last year as oil prices moderated.

After returning 58 percent in 2022 amid a global stock market downturn, Chevron stock has been stuck in a rut, returning -2% over the last two years, underperforming the S&P 500’s 53% return.

Other major 2025 Layoffs

Job cut announcements declined 40 percent last month compared to January 2024, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, but Chevron joins a growing list of major corporations conducting layoffs this year.

The U.S.’ biggest bank, JPMorgan Chase, will lay off less than 1,000 workers this month, according to Barron’s.

Facebook parent Meta began its 5 percent reduction Monday, affecting about 3,600 employees. Cosmetics giants Estée Lauder announced last week it will lay off about 10 percent of its workers, impacting up to 7,000 positions. Talent management platform Workday said last week it will cut 8.5 percent of its employees, affecting roughly 1,750 jobs.