Exxon’s meager bonuses make attracting more traders difficult – Bloomberg (NYSE:XOM)

Exxon Mobil’s (NYSE:XOM) expansion in trading is running into a problem: The company does not pay the large cash bonuses linked to trading profits that are common across the industry, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing current and former employees.

Exxon (XOM) traders are mostly paid like its engineers, with regular salaries topped up with small stock awards for the best performers and benefits such as a traditional pension.

By contrast, Trafigura recently paid $3B to its top traders and executives, or an average of ~$2.5M each, and established traders at BP (BP) and Shell (SHEL) are known to earn billions of dollars in a good year.

Exxon (XOM) surprised the commodities world in February by announcing a new global trading division that would strive for “industry-leading trading results.”

But CEO Darren Woods has made it clear that Exxon (XOM) would not try to mimic the world’s biggest trading houses, saying in April that while the company sees a “huge opportunity” in trading, it will only grow at a “very thoughtful, controlled pace.”

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