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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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
An email to staff also confirmed that about 3,000 contractor positions will also be axed this year.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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 (\u00a31.6bn) by the end of 2026, of which $500m is to be saved this year.<\/p>\n
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.”<\/p>\n
It is understood the cuts will be applied to those in office-based jobs rather than operational roles.<\/p>\n
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”.<\/p>\n
He said that about 2,600 of the contractors affected by the cuts had already left the business.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
In 2023, the firm came under fire for scaling back its plans to reduce the amount of oil and gas it produces by 2030.<\/p>\n
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.<\/a><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n His appointment followed the abrupt departure of his predecessor, Bernard Looney, amid a review of his personal relationships with colleagues.<\/a><\/p>\n Mr Auchincloss declared that the company was still “uniquely positioned to grow value through the energy transition” to renewables.<\/p>\n “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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n