BP plc revealed Monday that it plans to chop nearly 10,000 jobs. With most affected individuals leaving the corporate by the top of this year.
The planned workforce reduction amounts to an approximately 14-percent decrease. In headcount for the supermajor, whose website states that it operates in 79 countries and employs 70,100 people.
In a note to employees, BP CEO Bernard Looney stated the bulk of individuals suffering from the cuts add office-based roles.
“We are protecting the frontline of the corporate and, as always, prioritizing safe and reliable operations,” Looney commented.
Three-month freeze on redundancies
BP had introduced a three-month freeze on redundancies back in March because the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged the oil market. Looney acknowledged the move was an attempt to allay some immediate concerns among the workforce.
“That moratorium ends today,” the CEO stated Monday.
He explained that oil prices have fallen “well below” the extent where the corporate can turn a profit. He also noted that “people costs” account for roughly $8 billion of the $22 billion a year it takes to run the corporate.
“We are spending much, far more than we make – I’m talking many dollars a day,” Looney remarked. “And as a result, our net debt rose by $6 billion within the half-moon .”
BP stated that the actions it’s taking to scale back spending include:
Lowering capital expenditures this year by 25 percent, or approximately $3 billion
Reducing operating costs by $2.5 billion in 2021, with additional operating expense reductions likely on the horizon.
Delaying to Oct. 1, 2020, pay raises originally scheduled to require effect April 1 of this year, with no pay raises for senior-level or group leaders through March 31, 2021.
On Dominion Day of this year lifting a freeze on all promotions that had been imposed in March; the corporate stressed that promotions can restart “in a measured way that reflects the challenges we are up against”
Likely paying no cash bonuses for 2020
In addition to paying “substantial severance packages” to displaced employees, Looney noted that BP will offer them guidance in launching new careers, professional coaching, and job-seeking assistance and laptop computers.
Looney added that BP will launch an “Expression of Interest” program on June 15 for workers to volunteer to be considered for the redundancy plan under terms outlined within the previous paragraph.