Exxon Mobil Corp. on Tuesday said it plans to establish a single North American research and technology hub at its Houston headquarters, resulting in the closure of campuses in Clinton and in Sarnia, Ontario.
The decision will result in the loss of hundreds of jobs at the New Jersey campus, which is located at the intersection of Route 22 and Interstate 78. Exxon spokeswoman Emily Mir said the majority of employees are being offered roles in Houston.
The moves will be done in phases and will be fully enacted by 2028.
“We’re excited for our North American technology organizations to be located with our business lines to more effectively develop and commercialize industry-leading technology,” Mir said. “This move will expand our research capabilities and set a foundation for growth well into the future.”
The announcement is seen by some as a reminder of why New Jersey needs to greatly improve its business climate and to be more competitive with other states.
“With this consolidation, New Jersey is effectively losing hundreds of good-paying, high-educated jobs at a facility that was on the cutting edge of clean energy technologies,” Ray Cantor, deputy chief of government affairs for the New Jersey Business & Industry Association, said in a news release. “In short, it’s a blow to the innovation economy that New Jersey strives to achieve.
“While there is no known link to this New Jersey closure and corporate taxes, it is also a reminder that having the highest corporate tax rate in the nation, as currently proposed by Gov. Phil Murphy, does not help our competitiveness as corporate consolidation, expansion and relocation decisions are made every day.”
According to Bloomberg, which first reported the story, Exxon has spent the last four years streamlining a multitude of business divisions, shedding assets and reducing its workforce as part of a plan to cut $15 billion of costs by 2027 compared with 2019. It’s currently two-thirds of the way toward reaching that target.
