FILE PHOTO: A Marathon Petroleum banner covers an Andeavor sign outside the El Paso refinery Texas, U.S., October 1, 2018. REUTERS/Julio-Cesar Chavez
September 30, 2020
By Erwin Seba
HOUSTON (Reuters) – Marathon Petroleum Corp’s <MPC.N> oil-refining unit is cutting at least 6% of its staff, according to people familiar with the matter, demonstrating the depth of declining fuel demand during the pandemic.
Refiners and oil producers have been cutting staff, slashing spending and reducing production to cope with weak prices and a global glut of fuel. U.S. gasoline futures are down 26% from a year ago and oil futures are trading down a third from where they began the year.
A total of 1,255 salaried and hourly employees at nine of Marathon’s 16 refineries were notified of job losses this week, the people said. It could not immediately be learned whether jobs at other Marathon refineries or pipeline operations also were affected.
The largest U.S. refiner by volume, Marathon on Tuesday said it was evaluating roles throughout the company but gave no details. A spokesman on Wednesday declined further comment.
(Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Cynthia Osterman)
