As part of its endeavour to cut costs and streamline operations, British Petroleum (BP) is gearing to let go five per cent of its 90,000-strong global workforce this year. The move will impact about 4,700 permanent employees and 3,000 roles from its contractors.
The job cuts have been officially made known to the employees via an internal communiqué, as reported by Reuters.
Murray Auchincloss, CEO, British Petroleum, had said last year that he intended to cut costs by a minimum of $2 billion by the end of 2026 in an attempt to restore the confidence of investors and increase revenue. Auchincloss intends to make BP more agile with simpler operations and better focus.
Investors had begun to raise concerns when Bernard Looney, who was CEO before Auchincloss, had quit the organisation in 2023.
About a thousand roles may be axed to get rid of redundancy or even be shifted offshore, to Malaysia, India or Hungary, from the US and the UK.
Given the rapid shift that is happening away from oil and gas towards clean energy, British Petroleum has been trying to focus more on investing in renewable energy and green technologies, including wind and solar energy. It is trying to keep pace with the transition happening worldwide but competition in this space is stiff and only growing.