BATON ROUGE – One of the nation’s largest refineries is moving to a more critical staffing level and limiting contractors and vendors on-site.

ExxonMobil Baton Rouge is adjusting staffing to limit possible exposure and the spread of COVID-19. Companies nation-wide are limiting the number of employees working in traditional environments in efforts to lessen the spread of the virus.

In Baton Rouge, the ExxonMobil facility said Friday it “is taking steps with our contractors and vendors to move toward minimum staffing at our Refinery to limit the potential exposure to COVID-19.  We are notifying contractors and vendors of these actions and are taking appropriate steps to adjust staffing accordingly.”

 A refinery spokesperson said the focus is on protecting critical operations personnel from exposure so the facility can continue to operate.

“We expect to continue plant operations with critical staff to be able to deliver fuel and products to support community and society’s needs,” a facility spokesperson added.

Related to the virus, the corporate office said Monday, ExxonMobil was looking to reduce spending due to the market conditions caused by the Coronavirus pandemic and commodity price decreases, according to the company.

“Based on this unprecedented environment, we are evaluating all appropriate steps to significantly reduce capital and operating expenses in the near term,” said Darren Woods, chairman and chief executive officer of Exxon Mobil Corporation. “We will outline plans when they are finalized.”

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