The oil major BP announced that it will lay off 15% of its workforce, in response to the COVID-19 crisis and in line with Chief Executive Bernard Looney’s plan to shift the oil and gas major to renewable energy.
As Reuters reports, Looney informed his employees in a global online call, informing them that the company will cut 10,000 jobs from the current 70,100.
The company added that the affected jobs will be mostly senior office-based positions and not front-line operational staff. Also, a fifth of the job cuts will take place in Britain, where the company employs 15,000 people.
Similar to other top energy companies, BP reduced its 2020 spending plans as a result of the pandemic. The company has flagged a 25% cut to $12 billion this year and said it would find $2.5 billion in cost savings by the end of 2021 through the digitalisation and integration of its businesses.
In the meantime, itt is stated that the job reductions are part of Looney’s goal to make the oil company more nimble as it prepares for the shift to low-carbon energy.
Dealing with the pandemic, Meyer Turku, Stena Line and many more have aready laid off employees in efforts to resume operations and find their economic stability.
