British oil giant, BP has recently said that it plans to cut about 15% of its global workforce or 10,000 jobs in response to the coronavirus crisis. The company is also attributing the downsizing to its Chief Executive Officer Bernard Looney’s ambitious plan to reform the company into a renewable energy major.
In a global online call, Looney informed his employees that the London-based company will reduce the headcount by 10,000 from its current 70,100 strong workforce. The job cuts were first reported by Reuters citing company sources.
“We will now begin a process that will see close to 10,000 people leaving BP – most by the end of this year,” Looney said in a statement.
However, the company said most affected jobs will be from senior office-based positions and not front-line operational staff. About a fifth of these layoffs will take place in its home country Britain. The company employs about 15,000 people in the country.
The coronavirus pandemic and subsequent layoffs have cut global consumer fuel usage as people stay indoors. Like most of the oil majors, BP had cut its 2020 spending plans after a decline in oil demand. Looney said the company is likely to need to cut costs even further.
The company further said that it is giving no pay rises to senior employees until March 2021 and is unlikely to pay any cash bonuses this year.
The job reductions are also part of Looney’s drive to make the 111-year-old oil company more nimble as it prepares for the shift to low-carbon energy, said a Reuters report.
“It was always part of the plan to make BP a leaner, faster-moving and lower-carbon company,” Looney said. The spokesman said that the coronavirus crisis “amplified and accelerated” BP’s transition plans.
Earlier last month, Looney announced a large round of senior management appointments, halving the size of BP’s leadership team under his plan to reshape the company’s structure.
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