BP Cuts 10K Jobs As Coronavirus Hits Oil Demand

BP plc BP is cutting 10,000 jobs following a global slump in demand for oil due to the coronavirus crisis, CEO Bernard Looney announced Monday.

The pandemic drove the price of oil to less than $20 a barrel; it has since recovered to around $41 a barrel. 

Looney held a webcast to announce the impact on staff at BP.

The energy company previously committed to a three-month freeze on job reductions during the peak of the pandemic, starting from early March.

“We expect BP’s global workforce to be reduced by 10,000 (current global total is 70,000) in the process now starting,” the company said in a statement. 

The majority of those affected are expected to leave in 2020. The layoff figure is a global number, and the company has not yet released details of how specific regions or businesses will be impacted. 

The roles affected are office-based, not front-line operational roles, and the changes are expected to significantly impact senior-level people.

BP says it is introducing a “flatter structure” and expects the number of group leaders to be reduced by one-third.

BP's shares were trading 1.26% higher at $28.07 on Monday. The stock has a 52-week high of $42.70 and a 52-week low of $15.51.

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Photo by Grahame C. Anderson via Wikimedia.