LONDON – BP plans to cut about 700 of its global workforce, according to an internal e-mail seen by Reuters, as the oil major sharpens its focus to bolster profits and returns.
The reductions would impact around 8 per cent of the 8,500 “non-frontline” roles that historically were part of the company’s production and operations business, the e-mail showed.
Frontline roles include operators, technicians and maintenance roles, and BP said in the e-mail it does not expect any material change to its frontline teams.
“If your role is affected, that could mean that it does not exist in the new organisation, changes materially, or moves into a different part of the organisation,” the e-mail said.
BP has been doubling down on efforts to simplify its operations in a bid to reduce debt, boost profit and refocus on its oil and gas investments, after scaling back its investment in renewables.
“We are building a simpler, stronger, more valuable BP. As part of this process, we are proposing changes that would result in a reduction in roles,” a BP spokesperson told Reuters without confirming the number of jobs that will be cut.
Upstream Online reported the news earlier on July 30. REUTERS
