New York (AFP)

The American oil major ExxonMobil announced Monday that it would cut 1,600 jobs by the end of 2021 in Europe, or just over 11% of its workforce on the continent, as part of a generalized reduction in costs accelerated by the pandemic.

"The impact of Covid-19 on demand for ExxonMobil products has made the ongoing work on improving the efficiency" of the company even more urgent, explains ExxonMobil, which employs around 14,000 people in Europe .

The company did not detail the geographic distribution of the cuts, but said they would depend on "the commercial footprint and local market conditions."

“Europe remains an important market for ExxonMobil, as recent major investments have shown. However, significant actions are needed now to improve cost competitiveness and ensure the company overcomes these conditions unprecedented market, ”says the major, which has around 75,000 employees worldwide.

Hit hard by the pandemic, the drop in global demand for black gold and the transition to renewable energies, ExxonMobil has seen its stock tumble by more than half on Wall Street since the start of the year.

Last week, the market value of US solar and wind specialist NextEra Energy for the first time exceeded that of ExxonMobil during the session, despite the chasm between the two companies in terms of turnover and of profits.

The oil giant was also ousted at the end of August from the Dow Jones, the flagship index of the New York Stock Exchange, in which it had appeared since 1928. This forced departure is, however, linked to a rebalancing after the division by four of the Apple stock, whose weight has fallen within the Dow Jones.

ExxonMobil is not the only oil giant to suffer from the consequences of the coronavirus crisis and the energy transition.

Last Wednesday, the Anglo-Dutch group Royal Dutch Shell announced that it intended to cut 7,000 to 9,000 jobs by 2022, or around 10% of its payroll, to reduce costs.

When it released its results in July, the Texan oil services group Schlumberger also cut jobs, with 21,000 job cuts planned - a quarter of its workforce.

In June, Britain's BP announced the loss of 10,000 jobs worldwide, or 15% of its workforce.

© 2020 AFP