ExxonMobil Corp. is rewarding employees with their sharpest salary increase in 15 years following the company’s single biggest quarterly profit on record.
The Irving-based oil and natural gas giant will award its U.S. workforce with a nearly 10% pay increase on their annual salary, with an additional 5% increase tacked on for those who were recently promoted, according to Bloomberg. Exxon is also granting restricted stock options to approximately 14,000 global employees, as well as a 10% bonus for top executives.
The pay increase would be significant, considering October’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) reading came in at 7.7% year-over-year.
“Our company performance reflects the hard work, commitment and perseverance of our employees,” Exxon spokesperson Amy Von Walter said. “We take great pride in the exceptional business results our teams delivered despite it being a time of uncertainty and significant change.”
Calendar year 2022 has been a record-breaking year for the oil and gas industry, with major players scoring tens of billions of dollars in profit, despite the squeeze it is putting on regular consumers.
The top oil and gas titans recorded unprecedented amounts of profits during the third quarter. Saudi Aramco made the highest profit amongst its peers, reaching a staggering $42 billion. ExxonMobil recorded the second highest profit, achieving $19.7 billion, whereas Chevron realized $11.2 billion, Shell $9.5 billion, and British Petroleum (BP) $8.2 billion.
While 2022 has marked a major turnaround for the industry, with Exxon achieving the highest profit in its 152-year history, overall trends have been largely negative for the past few years.
During the last three years, Exxon had carried out a litany of unfavorable policy changes that adversely impacted the typical rank-and-file worker. These included freezing salaries, suspending the company’s 401(k) match program, and mass layoffs.
This year’s turnaround for the industry played a sizable role in Exxon’s decision to share the historic profits with its employees. Still, President Joe Biden criticized oil and gas executives for their supposed role in the high prices earlier this summer.
“Oil companies’ record profits today are not because they’re doing something new or innovative,” said Biden. “Their profits are a windfall of war, the windfall from the brutal conflict that’s ravaging Ukraine and hurting tens of millions of people around the globe.”
After taking office in 2021, President Biden and his administration have pursued a controversial energy agenda, focusing on green energy solutions and taking a highly restrictive approach to oil.
This has done little to relieve the regular consumer from the rising price at the pump, though prices have come down since their June high.
With record-setting profits rousing investors, Exxon’s stock price doubled from a 52-week low of $57.96 to a 52-week high of $114.66. The strong performance landed Exxon back in the top 10 biggest companies in the S&P 500 Index.