Oil giant BP is to cut about 4,700 staff, more than 5% of its total workforce, as part of its plans to cut costs.
The British firm, which has a global workforce of about 90,000 people, confirmed the job losses on Thursday, but has not said how many roles will be affected in each country it operates in.
An email to staff also confirmed that about 3,000 contractor positions will also be axed this year.
BP employs about 16,000 people in the UK, of which about 6,000 are based in petrol and service stations, and will not be affected by the cuts.
Chief executive Murray Auchincloss, who announced last year his intentions to simplify the business, is understood to have set a cost reduction target of $2bn (£1.6bn) by the end of 2026, of which $500m is to be saved this year.
In an email to staff on Thursday he said: “We have got more we need to do through this year, next year and beyond, but we are making strong progress as we position BP to grow as a simpler, more focused, higher-value company.”
It is understood the cuts will be applied to those in office-based jobs rather than operational roles.
The boss added that he recognised “the uncertainty this brings for everyone whose job may be at risk, and also the effect it can have on colleagues and teams”.
He said that about 2,600 of the contractors affected by the cuts had already left the business.
The announcement comes following a review of all of BP’s divisions. The company has a multi-year plan to make savings across its operations, and has warned there may be more job reductions to come.
The energy giant is trying to bring more digital capabilities into the business, with artificial intelligence playing a growing role in engineering and marketing operations.
Mr Auchincloss said BP was focusing its resources on “our highest-value opportunities”, adding that it had stopped or paused 30 projects since June 2024.
In 2023, the firm came under fire for scaling back its plans to reduce the amount of oil and gas it produces by 2030.
The company had previously promised that emissions would be 35-40% lower by the end of this decade, but announced it would now target a 20-30% cut and maintain investment in fossil fuels.
But Mr Auchincloss, who took charge of the firm a year ago, hopes his cost-cutting drive will boost the company’s flagging share price, which has fallen about 20% since last spring.
His appointment followed the abrupt departure of his predecessor, Bernard Looney, amid a review of his personal relationships with colleagues.
Mr Auchincloss declared that the company was still “uniquely positioned to grow value through the energy transition” to renewables.
“But that doesn’t give us an automatic right to win. We have to keep improving our competitiveness and moving at the pace of our customers and society,” he added.
