ExxonMobil Says It Will Cut 16,000 Jobs

Recently merged U.S. oil giant ExxonMobil Corp. will reduce its payroll by 16,000 employees in an effort to cut $3.8 billion in costs annually, the company said Wednesday.

The $81 billion dollar merger between Exxon and Mobil was first announced in December 1998, but was not approved until early this month.

When the merger was first announced, company leaders said they expected to lay off only 9,000 employees to save $2.8 billion. But ExxonMobil Chairman Lee Raymond told experts and reporters that increasing the layoff number would enable the company to experience greater "synergy benefits of the merger" sooner than than previously forecasted. The company must make the 16,000 job cuts by 2002, Raymond said, noting that 2,000 were made in 1999.