By Florence Tan and Shruti Sonal

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Exxon Mobil Corp plans to cut its workforce in Singapore, home to its largest oil refining and petrochemical complex, by about 7% amid the “unprecedented market conditions” resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, it said on Wednesday.

About 300 positions out of 4,000 current jobs will be impacted by the end of 2021, the company said in a statement.

The Singapore layoffs come weeks after Exxon announced its plan to close its 72-year-old Altona refinery in Australia and convert it to an import terminal. The top U.S. oil producer, once America’s most valuable company, posted a historic annual loss for 2020 after the coronavirus pandemic slashed energy demand.

Exxon’s announcement also follows European major Royal Dutch Shell’s decision in November to cut 500 staff and halve its crude processing capacity in Singapore as part of a global strategy to reduce carbon emissions.

Exxon Mobil’s Singapore complex has the capacity to refine about 592,000 barrels per day of oil and includes its biggest integrated petrochemical production site.

The city-state will remain a strategic location for the company, it said.

“This is a difficult but necessary step to improve our company’s competitiveness and strengthen the foundation of our business for future success,” said Geraldine Chin, chairman and managing director, ExxonMobil Asia Pacific Pte Ltd.

Last year, Exxon said it remained committed to a multi-billion dollar expansion at the Singapore complex amid an ongoing review of its projects globally.

(Reporting by Shruti Sonal in Bengaluru and Florence Tan in Singapore; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Christian Schmollinger)

DUBLIN (Reuters) – The sharp decline in activity in Ireland’s largely locked down services sector eased slightly in February while confidence rose to the strongest level in over a year on the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, a survey showed on Wednesday.

Ireland shut most building sites, shops and the hospitality sector from late December after a brief reopening led to a huge surge in COVID-19 infections, hospital admissions and deaths. The government has said any reopening will be very gradual, with the hospitality sector likely to remain shut until mid-summer.

The AIB IHS Markit Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for services stood at 41.2 in February, a slight improvement on a reading of 36.2 recorded in January but well below the 50-mark that separates expansion from contraction.

“The Irish reading of 41.2 is well below the corresponding flash February PMI figures of 49.7 for the UK and 44.7 in the euro zone, pointing to a more extensive lockdown here,” AIB Chief Economist Oliver Mangan said.

“The PMI, though, has not plummeted to the levels seen last spring during the first lockdown,” he added, referring to the historic low of 13.9 recorded last April.

The survey contained a “ray of hope”, Mangan added, as expectations for the 12-month outlook rose sharply to the strongest level in over a year, spurred by expectations that vaccinations will lead to a gradual lifting of restrictions.

(Reporting by Graham Fahy; Editing by Catherine Evans)

By Tim Hepher

PARIS (Reuters) – Boeing Co has raised concerns over the design of arch-rival Airbus’ newest narrow-body jet, the A321XLR, saying a novel type of fuel tank could pose fire risks.

The U.S. plane giant’s intervention is not without precedent in a global system that regularly allows manufacturers to chime in whenever safety rules are being interpreted in a way that might affect the rest of the industry.

But it comes at a pivotal moment as Boeing emerges from a two-year safety crisis over its competing 737 MAX, and Airbus faces its own crucial test of the tougher mood expected from regulators worldwide following the MAX’s 20-month grounding.

In a submission to the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), Boeing said the architecture of a fuel tank intended to increase the A321XLR’s range “presents many potential hazards.”

The debate surrounds the hot-selling A321XLR’s main marketing point – the longest range of any single-aisle jet.

In most jets, fuel is carried in wings and central tanks.

To meet demand for longer routes, Airbus has already added optional extra fuel tanks inside the cargo bay of some A321s.

For the A321XLR, Airbus plans to eke out more space for fuel by moulding one tank directly into the fuselage, meaning its shape would follow the contours of the jet and carry more fuel.

The concept caught the attention of EASA which in January said it would impose special conditions to keep passengers safe.

“An integral fuselage fuel tank exposed to an external fire, if not adequately protected, may not provide enough time for the

passengers to safely evacuate the aircraft,” it said.

In comments to EASA first reported by Flightglobal, Boeing cited risks if a jet veers off a runway or its wheels fail.

“Public consultation is part-and-parcel of an aircraft development programme,” an Airbus spokesman said, adding any issues raised would be tackled together with regulators.

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Such technical exchanges rarely capture attention. But a battered aerospace industry is on edge after the MAX crisis, compounded by COVID-19, shook confidence in aviation.

Commercial stakes are also high.

One industry source familiar with the project warned any extended wrangle over certification could delay the A321XLR’s service entry from “late 2023” to 2024 or beyond.

Should that happen, sources say Boeing is expected to encourage airlines to wait a few years longer for a potential all-new model that insiders say would leapfrog the A321XLR.

While insisting they never compete on safety, Airbus and Boeing have a record of goading each other in the past over issues like novel flight computers on the Airbus A320 or European claims that four engines were safer than the 777’s two.

Fuel tanks have provoked particularly sharp disagreement.

In 2001, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration triggered changes to the design of fuel tanks worldwide, five years after a Boeing 747 exploded in mid-air.

Investigators said TWA 800 was brought down by a fuel-tank explosion in the presence of unwanted oxygen, but Airbus officials maintained their own jets were less at risk.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher in Paris; Additional reporting by Eric M. Johnson; Editing by Matthew Lewis)