Chevron to lay off 70 employees at Renewable Energy Group headquarters in Ames, Iowa

Photo: Chevron REG

Chevron is laying off 70 people from its Renewable Energy Group headquarters in Ames, Iowa, according to a WARN Notice on the Iowa Workforce Development website and confirmed by a spokesperson for the company.

WARN stands for Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988, a federal law that requires companies of a certain size to provide advanced notice of layoffs or plant closures.

The Ames headquarters is home to Chevron REG’s leadership team, accounting, banking and finance, corporate affairs, customer service, engineering, human resources, legal, manufacturing, global sourcing, sales and marketing, tax, training and transportation departments.

“Chevron is taking action to simplify our operating model, execute work faster and more effectively, and position the company for long-term competitiveness,” Chevron said in a statement provided to Biobased Diesel Daily®.  “As previously announced, we expect these efforts to result in workforce reductions in 2025.”

Chevron issued a statement in February, obtained by Biobased Diesel Daily® from a spokesperson at the company, which indicated Chevron planned to optimize its portfolio, leverage technology to enhance productivity, and change how and where work is performed—including the expanded use of global centers.

“We believe changes to the organizational structure will improve standardization, centralization, efficiency and results, unlocking new growth potential and helping Chevron drive industry-leading performance now and into the future,” Chevron stated in February. “We expect these actions to result in workforce reductions of 15 percent to 20 percent, beginning in 2025 with most complete before the end of 2026. These reductions are in line with our previous announcement of $2 billion to $3 billion in targeted structural cost reductions by the end of 2026, with some residual impact in 2027 and beyond.”

Chevron’s February statement went on to say, “We do not take these actions lightly and will support our employees through the transition. But responsible leadership requires taking these steps to improve the long-term competitiveness of our company for our people, our shareholders and our communities.”

In May, when the layoffs were announced, the company added, “This is a difficult decision, and we do not make it lightly … We understand the impact this news may have on our employees, their families and the communities where we operate. Our priority is to support our employees through this transition. We are offering severance benefits and outplacement support.”

According to the WARN Notification on the Iowa Workforce Development website, the layoff date is June 18.

A Chevron spokesperson told Biobased Diesel Daily® that Chevron REG currently employs around 300 people in Ames.

As such, the 70 layoffs represent nearly a quarter of the Chevron REG workforce in Ames.

Chevron announced its intention in late February 2022 to acquire North America’s largest biodiesel producer, Renewable Energy Group, for $3.15 billion in cash.

By mid-June 2022, the acquisition was completed.

In early 2024, Chevron said it was closing the company’s biodiesel manufacturing site in Ralston, Iowa.

Around the same time, Chevron announced it was also closing its biodiesel plant in DeForest, Wisconsin.

Four months later, in July 2024, the company said it was idling its biodiesel production facility in Oeding, Germany.