OIL giant BP is to shed 10,000 jobs as a result of the coronavirus crisis and as part of its chief executive’s plan to shift from oil and gas to renewable energy.
Bernard Looney told employees in a global online call that the London-based company will cut the posts from its current total of 70,100.
“We will now begin a process that will see close to 10,000 people leaving BP – most by the end of this year,” he said in a statement.
The roles will be mostly senior office-based positions and not front-line operational staff, the company said.
They follow April’s announcement of a 25% reduction in 2020 spending after the pandemic brought an unprecedented drop in demand for oil.
BP also said it would find $2.5 billion (£1.9bn) in cost savings by the end of 2021 through the digitalisation and integration of its businesses.
The job cuts are also part of Looney’s drive to make the 111-year-old company more nimble as it prepares for the shift to low-carbon energy.
Looney said: “It was always part of the plan to make BP a leaner, faster-moving and lower-carbon company.”
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