BP to cut 4,000 jobs worldwide

BP has announced it will cut five per cent of its international workforce, reducing its global oil exploration and production (also known as upstream) headcount by 4,000 employees in a US$3.5 billion (S$5 billion) restructuring program.
 
This will put its total upstream headcount at around 20,000. The company employed a total global workforce of 80,000 staff at the end of 2015.
 
The layoffs come at a time of falling oil prices and major investment cuts, forcing company to reduce its expenses.
 
“We want to simplify structure and reduce costs without compromising safety. Globally, we expect the headcount in upstream to be below 20,000 by the end of the year,” a BP spokesperson said.
 
When asked how the restructuring would affect Southeast Asia, a spokesperson told HC Online that they weren’t breaking the number down geographically.
 
However in Scotland, the company plans on cutting 600 jobs in its North Sea operations over the next two years. Office workers and agency jobs on long-term contracts are most likely to be affected.
 
BP joins other oil and gas companies such as Royal Dutch Shell and Chevron which have already cut tens of thousands of jobs since June last year. In the past 18 months, more than 250,000 positions have been slashed in the industry.