Britain: BP cuts 5% in its workforce to reduce costs

BP oil and gas company announced today (16.12025) that it would make 5% of its workforce worldwide, as part of the efforts of CEO Murray Okinklos to reduce costs and restore investor confidence in this energy giant. About 4,700 workers and 3,000 contract workers will be fired this year, multinational told the Reuters agency. The cuts were announced through a service memo which Reuters had seen earlier today. BP shares showed an increase of 1.8% to 11.10 GMT (13.10 Greek time). CORVERSE Okinclus had said last year that he would reduce the British company’s costs by $2 billion by the end of 2026 to boost returns and reassure investors’ concerns about its energy transition strategy. He seeks to restore confidence following the sudden resignation of Bernard Looney’s predecessor in September 2023 for not revealing relations with the workers. Workers’ cuts concern all BP sections. The exact distribution of cuts was not revealed. BP has a workforce of around 90,000 employees. “We still have a lot to do this year, next year and then, but we are making great progress as we place BP to develop as a simpler, more focused and higher-value company,” says Okinklos in his memo. CORVERSE The shares of the group were not as efficient as those of its competitors last year, scoring a drop of more than 5%, similar to its French competitor TotalEnergies, compared to the 5% rise of Shell and 14% Exxon Mobil. The Okinklos who took office a year ago will present his new strategy to investors on February 26. He has taken significant steps to undo his predecessor’s oil and gas removal strategy. As part of the new effort to limit exposure to renewable sources, BP and the Japanese energy producer JERA agreed last month to join forces and create one of the largest wind plant management companies in the world. Competitive Shell also made cuts in her workforce in recent years by adopting the policy of the cuts of CEO Wael Sawan. These cuts included a 20% reduction in the oil and gas exploration department and cuts in the low carbon section. BP will publish its results for the fourth quarter and the year as a whole on 11 February.