In early September 2025, major oil and gas producer ConocoPhillips announced plans to layoff 20-25% of its workforce worldwide. As a company of roughly 13,000 employees, the cuts could affect more than 3,000 workers before the end of the year. The ConocoPhillips news follows a similar announcement from Chevron earlier this year, as well as workforce reductions at other energy companies, reflecting a tightening trend across the industry.

While it’s not unusual for companies to conduct occasional layoffs with efficiency and cost-cutting in mind, cuts of this magnitude are relatively rare. The financial impact on employees and their families will be widespread and, in some cases, extremely disruptive. If you’re facing a potential job loss, now is the time to take proactive steps to maximize your current compensation and benefits and safeguard your long-term financial security.

As an independent wealth management firm, Quotient Wealth Partners has extensive experience serving energy industry employees and corporate executives—in good times and bad. We can help you develop a strategic financial plan to minimize the setbacks of a layoff,  financially prepare as you move into your next career phase, or transition to a stable and enjoyable retirement.

To help you get started immediately, we’ve developed the following checklist of financial priorities to address as soon as possible.

Understand Your ConocoPhillips Benefits and Severance Options

If you receive notice of a layoff, it’s critical to gather as much information as possible to develop a clear picture of what your income and expenses will be after separating from the company. You may receive severance pay, which is often calculated based on your current salary and how long you’ve been with the company (for example: minimum of four weeks’ pay, plus an additional week’s pay for every year of service). Your severance package may also include ongoing benefits such as health insurance and other insurance coverages for a limited time (more on that later), or career transition assistance.

Don’t forget you may also be eligible for state unemployment benefits, which can replace a portion of your lost income. Depending on state laws, you may need to wait until after your severance pay runs out before qualifying for unemployment.

Ensure Ongoing Healthcare and Insurance Coverage

Maintaining health insurance is probably the number one priority for most families after a layoff. Start exploring your options as soon as possible. Your severance package may include ongoing subsidized premiums through the company for a limited time, which helps with affordability while you’re looking for another job. Even after that coverage ends, the law says you can continue your employer health coverage through COBRA, but that could mean paying 100% percent of the premium. Determine if you qualify for retiree medical under the ConocoPhillips ’65-point rule’ (age + years of service). Find out as much as you can about what ConocoPhillips will offer, especially if it’s part of a severance agreement, as it could have a significant impact on your monthly expenses.

Compare your findings to other options, such as moving to a spouse’s employer-sponsored health plan or finding a new policy on your own. If you’re approaching age 65 or older, consider switching to Medicare.

Maximize Your Current ConocoPhillips 401(k) Benefits

Once you leave the company, you’ll no longer be able to contribute to your 401(k), so take full advantage of what the plan has to offer. Increasing your contributions to help ensure you hit the annual maximum before you’re let go will give your retirement savings a boost. And, if your severance package includes full vesting of the company match, your extra contributions will add up to much more.

A word of caution, however: Before making extra contributions to your 401(k), make sure you have enough liquid assets in savings to provide a financial cushion if you’re unemployed longer than expected. Log into your Fidelity NetBenefits and make sure you review your 401(k)balances, contributions, and stock positions.

Understand How Your Equity & Incentive Compensation Will Be Paid Out

You may have received stock options and/or restricted stock units (RSUs) as part of your compensation plan. And, if you’re a higher-level management employee, equity could make up a significant portion of your total pay. If you lose your job, you’ll keep any vested RSUs if you’re retirement eligible and have the ability to exercise vested stock options within a certain window of time. Unvested equity compensation can get more complicated, depending on the terms of your severance.

Usually, unvested options and RSUs are returned to the company (with no benefit to the employee), but in some cases companies may accelerate the vesting schedule to allow certain terminated employees to profit from them. In any case, it’s important to understand what rules apply to you, and take quick action, if necessary, to avoid forfeiting what could be a substantial payout.

Determine Necessary Additional Benefits After Leaving ConocoPhillips

Beyond major medical, you might also receive additional benefits from the company such as dental insurance, life insurance, long-term care and disability insurance. Some or all of these benefits might continue for a limited time under your severance agreement, or they may end immediately. Either way, make sure you fully understand what you’ll need to replace, and when. Starting new policies may create some extra expenses during your layoff, but it could be worth it to guard against major financial setbacks.

Create a Budget and Track Your Expenses

Unless you’re independently wealthy, losing your job will likely create some financial stress in your household. While finding another job is probably your highest priority, next on the list should be streamlining your family finances to ensure your severance pay and savings can see you through the unemployed months. Now is a good time to make a list of all monthly expenses and cut back where you can; you’ll be surprised how quickly you can eliminate hundreds of dollars in discretionary spending. Adding up the remaining “must have” expenses will give you a better idea of how long you can realistically go without a job.

Evaluate Your Retirement Income Sources

If you’re older than 59½ but not ready to retire, you could potentially tap into retirement funds (penalty free) to cover an emergency cash shortage. Review your 401(k) and IRA balances in relation to any other income sources such as a pension, annuity or Social Security. The goal would be to cover short-term expenses without jeopardizing your long-term financial plan for retirement.

If you’re under 59½, it would be better to avoid tapping into tax-advantaged retirement accounts, as it will not only trigger taxes and a 10% penalty, but could also rob your nest egg of years of investment growth.

Another effective way to prepare for retirement is to benefit from “maxing” out your IRAs or401(k) contributions, albeit, for many, the annual contribution limits can be restrictive. For higher earners, utilizing “Backdoor” Roth can be a unique and tax-advantageous strategy with no upper limit on income for eligibility. This strategy allows employees to contribute additional after-tax funds to their ConocoPhillips Savings Plan, receive a match, and then convert those after-tax funds to a Roth Account.

If you’re facing a potential layoff and you have excess income above your traditional contribution limits, a Backdoor Roth strategy might make sense to consider. However, there are sizable tax implications if done incorrectly, so make sure work with an experienced financial advisor before making a conversion decision.

Get a Retirement Readiness Assessment

If you are nearing retirement age, a layoff will naturally lead to reassessing your plan for the years ahead. You might be wondering, “Can I just retire now, or do I still need to work for a few more years?” While you can certainly make your own calculations, it’s advisable to call on an experienced financial advisor who can view your situation with fresh eyes and an objective point of view. They can ask the right questions to help you “stress test” your retirement plan, and offer the unvarnished, fact-based advice you need to hear to succeed.

Formulate a Tax-Smart Withdrawal Strategy

When it comes time to access your retirement accounts or sell investment assets, how and when you withdraw funds can be of great consequence from a tax perspective. It takes expertise and planning to properly sequence withdrawals from tax-deferred accounts like your 401(k) and IRAs, after-tax accounts such as a Roth IRA, and brokerage investments that may trigger short- or long-term capital gains taxes. Coordinating these moves strategically can minimize your overall tax burden, spread it out over time, and extend the life of your savings.

Evaluate Net Unrealized Appreciation (NUA) Opportunities

When you separate from the company, a common strategy is to roll over the full balance of your 401(k) plan to an IRA, retaining the tax-deferred benefits of the plan. However, if your 401(k) holds a substantial amount of highly appreciated company stock, NUA is an alternative strategy that might benefit you more. The NUA strategy allows you to transfer the company stock portion of your 401(k) into a taxable brokerage account (the rest would still go to an IRA). The stock’s appreciation is taxed as ordinary income in the year it is transferred, and future appreciation is taxed at the regular capital gains rate (short- or long-term) when you sell the stock. In the right circumstances, the NUA strategy can enable substantial tax savings, but it can get complex, so it’s usually best left to a professional.

Consider Working with a Financial Advisor

Whether you’re a junior employee or a long-tenured executive, experiencing a layoff can be a difficult time. Amid the stress and confusion of managing a job change, it’s all too easy to make financial mistakes and miss out on lucrative opportunities. A qualified financial advisor can be an invaluable ally throughout the process, helping you make sense of your options, take advantage of sophisticated financial strategies, and keep you and your family on the path to financial security.

To schedule a no-cost, no obligation consultation with Quotient Wealth Partners, please call (888) 895-4797.