- 77 Oil companies received $8.2 billion under tax changes related to Covid relief but almost all laid off employees anyway.
- 5 of these companies also got benefits from the paycheck protection program (PPP), totaling more than $30 million.
- Despite the government aid, almost every one of the fossil-fuel companies laid off more than 58,000 employees.
The Guardian writes:
“Fossil-fuel companies have received billions of dollars in tax benefits from the US government as part of coronavirus relief measures, only to lay off tens of thousands of their workers during the pandemic, new figures reveal.
A group of 77 firms involved in the extraction of oil, gas and coal received $8.2bn under tax-code changes that formed part of a major pandemic stimulus bill passed by Congress last year. Five of these companies also got benefits from the paycheck protection program, totaling more than $30m.
Despite this, almost every one of the fossil-fuel companies laid off workers, with a more than 58,000 people losing their jobs since the onset of the pandemic, or around 16% of the combined workforces.
The largest beneficiary of government assistance has been Marathon Petroleum, which has got $2.1bn in tax benefits.
However, in the year to December 2020, the Ohio-based refining company laid off 1,920 workers, or around 9% of its workforce. As a comparative ratio, Marathon has received around $1m for each worker it made redundant, according to BailoutWatch, a nonprofit advocacy group that analyzed Securities and Exchange Commission filings to compile all the data.
“I’m not surprised that these companies took advantage of these tax benefits, but I’m horrified by the layoffs after they got this money,” said Chris Kuveke, a researcher at BailoutWatch…”
See full story here.
Categories: Business, Government, Infrastructure
Economic Left 
Leave a Reply