Chevron-Phillips Venture Cuts 130 Corporate Jobs to Rein In Costs

Chevron Phillips Chemical Co., the 50-50 joint venture between Chevron Corp. and Phillips 66, has eliminated about 130 positions—roughly 2.6% of its 5,000-strong global workforce—in a move aimed at trimming costs amid soft commodity prices and sluggish demand for petrochemicals. The reductions, carried out in early August, focus on corporate functions such as information technology, supply-chain management and logistics rather than plant operations. In an internal email seen by Bloomberg News, Chief Executive Officer Steve Prusak described the layoffs as “the first step” in a broader efficiency drive to outsource and centralize work, flatten management layers and align the organization with “industry realities.” The decision comes weeks after CPChem opened a 360,000-square-foot headquarters in The Woodlands, Texas. Departing employees were offered severance and transition support, the company said.