In the recent Town Hall meeting, someone brought up what is Project Skittles and caught management off guard. Just wondering if anyone heard of this Project.
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@17t Puteaux, France (ironically)
@1ba
Yep while the plant cant run without operators but can without daystaff.. lol
@180 lol…we’re going to walk if you don’t tell us what we want to know!!! You need JJ or Emma to confirm what’s already in this thread? You need to confirm that a company lays out a plan for a potential divestment so they’re ready if/when they sit down at a table with a potential buyer?? Just stay in your holes watching YouTube and scrolling tik tok more than you typically do!!
@180 do the picketers need copies of Kumbayah and We Shall Overcome?
Stop the lies and tell the employees the truth. Management looks absolutely stupid to think this information will remain secrete until employees get sc--wed by corporate greed. We are planning a walk out until transparency is obtained by operations and maintenance employees..
@gf what site ?
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Project Skittles at Shell Oil
“Project Skittles” is an informal, tongue‑in‑cheek term used in Shell Oil employee discussions to describe a planned workforce reduction or restructuring, with “let them eat Skittles” being a play on the phrase “let them eat cake” from the Napoleonic era.
Origin and context
The term surfaced in a recent Shell Oil Town Hall meeting, where an employee mentioned it and caught management off guard TheLayoff.com+1. In the workplace context, “let them eat Skittles” is a satirical twist on the historical idiom, implying that employees will be left with “just” Skittles — a metaphor for minimal or no benefits, or a symbolic “treat” instead of the usual perks. It’s not an official Shell program name, but rather a colloquial way to refer to a cost‑cutting or restructuring initiative.
What it likely refers to
While Shell Oil has been undergoing multiple workforce reductions and operational reorganizations in recent years — including divestments, site restructurings, and focus on core businesses TheLayoff.com+1 — “Project Skittles” appears to be shorthand for one of these cuts. It may be tied to broader corporate strategy shifts, such as:
Workforce optimization at sites like Norco, where major staff reductions are expected TheLayoff.com.
Divestment of non‑core assets (e.g., certain chemicals or trading units) to focus on core energy businesses TheLayoff.com.
Cost‑reduction measures in trading, chemicals, or other “pie‑in‑the‑sky” business areas TheLayoff.com.
Why the term is used
The phrase is used humorously or cynically to highlight the perceived lack of value or benefits for affected employees. It reflects a culture of “cutting” or “reconfiguring” roles rather than retaining them, and it’s part of a broader set of workplace slang and memes circulating among Shell employees TheLayoff.com.
Key takeaway
If you hear “Project Skittles” in a Shell Oil context, it’s not an official project name, but a slang reference to a restructuring or layoff initiative. It’s best to look at the surrounding discussion for details on which business units or sites are affected, as Shell Oil has been making multiple cuts in recent years
@mq Shell trading will change its name to Shell Charlatans this year. Just snakes that can’t hide fraudulent approach to energy trading anymore.
thing will get very funny when the trade floor can’t make as much money
it will blindside any executives who haven’t left yet
the reason of course is that we need “unprofitable assets” in order to trade. and the leadership team is too stupid to understand how our own money printer works.
@je we suffered BvB for almost a decade my dude. Voser was a bit over 4 years but bvb royaly fu---d us for almost 10 years. If you’re new, no insult intended.
@je WS has been cutting (not entirely but for the most part) all the pie in the sky BS “businesses” and random groups BvB hired or directed to hire. BvB fu---d up by selling deer park refinery. That’s only one of several examples. For a Deepwater guy like WS to see value in Norco of all places (granted thats all that’s left in US) but BvB couldn’t understand the value of Deerpark as a fu--ing downstream guy himself; by comparison BvB is a complete buffoon. (Tongue in cheek choke coming) bvb clearly didn’t understand ethylene comes from ethane because the fracking bo-m + the rapid ethylene plant buildout eluded him. Doubling down on a PE plant after all of that is reprehensible. Good fu--ing riddance, continue cutting until we get back to core businesses. Divest chemicals but could keep CSPC in China because CNOOC is a fine jv partner at least money-wise.
@bn just wait for operation Toosie Roll. It’s when they bend everyone over after they discover this one neat trick around pesky EU labor rights laws. Relisting and moving the HQ to the Americas.
@gx
BvB... he's been out for years, you have to blame WS. WS has had >3 years, right? Granted that there are some legacy things that will linger, just like there are some from PV and some from JvV... CEO's are mostly there for 4-6 years WS has had most of his turn
Shell Derangement Syndrome (SDS) is a real thing. If you have it, I suggest moving on to another company. It’s unhealthy and you’ll never change the culture at Shell.
@gf so rather than hold BvB accountable as the tw-t he his, she’s cowardly enough to hold the employees as responsible? What a fu--ing muppet.
@an Our boss' manager Marie said, in an unguarded moment, that it is a humorous way of saying "let them eat skittles" to those impacted.
Taste the rainbow
From the Dutch trade union: LOR is the NL redundancy package.
Shell's ongoing reliance on a permanent redundancy regulation (LOR) instead of a union-negotiated social plan creates a severe disadvantage for employees. Because the LOR remains continuously active across all future restructurings, the company can deploy it at will without any leverage or bargaining power left for the workforce.
Furthermore, these terms are exceptionally poor. The previous LOR was already below market standards, but the newly updated version agreed upon with the Central Works Council (COR) has actively worsened the conditions further, leaving departing staff with heavily degraded redundancy packages.
huge spoiler alert!!!🚨
From Starburst to Skittles. Can't wait for Operation Sweet Tarts
Project Skittles: a team of people that are figuring out how to dismantle chemicals from Shell portfolio.
it involves hiring indians after firing americans