Some traders working for Exxon Mobil are set to lose their jobs because they don’t want to move from Brussels to London, according to a statement from its unions.
The majority of Brussels-based trading staff at the oil giant said in an internal union-led survey that they won’t move to the British capital because of “uncompetitive” pay and a “lack of flexibility,” according to a joint statement from the unions. As many as 37 trading employees will get fired as a result, it added.
“As we continue to strengthen our trading community, London provides better proximity to trading activities, trading talent pool, and will support our evolution as a trading organization,” a spokesperson of Exxon said in an emailed statement.
The company did not address the unions’ allegations of job cuts, saying only that, “we remain open to resolving the situation.”
Earlier this year, Exxon asked its Belgian traders to relocate to the UK after it created a new global trading division to merge dispersed teams under the same business unit.
The move is part of a major expansion in trading for the oil company, which historically has not taken on as much risk as European rivals Shell and BP.
While many of Exxon’s trading staff are already in Britain, the oil giant still has people working on petroleum products and biofuel in Brussels, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
Employees in London would be expected to be in the office five days a week, and anyone who refuses to move will be laid off, the person said.
The company previously relocated UK traders from the commuter town of Leatherhead to central London as part of its plan to attract talent.
It also introduced a new compensation structure that would pay some traders cash bonuses.
More than 300 Exxon employees — about a third of its workforce — have departed from their jobs in Brussels over a three-year period, according to the statement from the Association of Employees, Technicians and Managers, the General Confederation of Liberal Trade Unions of Belgium, and the Confederation of Christian Trade Unions.
Union representatives have planned a protest outside the company’s Europe, Africa and Middle East headquarters in Brussels on Tuesday.
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