Agencies
British energy giant BP on Thursday said it would axe 4,700 staff jobsabout five percent of its workforceand was cutting thousands of contractor roles to reduce costs.
The move is part of a “multi-year program to simplify” the group and improve performance, BP said in a statement.
It comes as BP chief executive Murray Auchincloss puts the emphasis on oil and gas to boost profits, scaling back on the group’s key climate targets since taking the helm one year ago.
“We have got more we need to do through this year, next year and beyond, but we are making strong progress as we position BP to grow as a simpler, more focused, higher-value company,” he said in an email sent to employees and seen by AFP.
On the job cuts, which include more than 3,000 contractor roles, he added: “I understand and recognize the uncertainty this brings for everyone whose job may be at risk, and also the effect it can have on colleagues and teams.” BP, which has around 90,000 permanent staff based around the globe, indicated that more job reductions were on the horizon.
“We expect around 4,700 roles to be impacted... accounting for much of the anticipated reduction in our headcount this year,” the company said.
“We are also reducing our contractor numbers by more than 3,000 -- with 2,600” positions having already ended.
The company’s share price rose around 1.5 percent in afternoon deals on London’s top-tier FTSE 100 index, which was trading higher overall.
Auchincloss, who took the top job after the departure of Bernard Looney, announced last year “at least” $2.0 billion in cost savings by the end of 2026.
He added in Thursday’s statement that 30 projects had been stopped or paused since June to focus on the “highest value opportunities”.
