Shell to Cut 9,000 Jobs Due to Slumping Oil Demand
Royal Dutch Shell announced on Wednesday that it is planning to cut between 7,000 and 9,000 jobs worldwide by the end of 2022 as a result of a collapse in demand for oil and the subsequent dip in oil prices amidst the coronavirus pandemic.
The oil company said that around 1,500 employees have already agreed to take a voluntary redundancy this year. (Voluntary redundancy is a financial incentive offered by an organization to encourage employees to voluntarily resign, typically in downsizing or restructuring situations.)
Shell also said it's looking at other areas where it can cut costs, such as travel, its use of contractors and virtual working.
Overall, the company is expecting these cost-cutting measures to save them between $2 billion and $2.5 billion by 2022.
“We have to be a simpler, more streamlined, more competitive organization that is more nimble and able to respond to customers,” Ben van Beurden, the company’s chief executive, said. “To be more nimble, we have to remove a certain amount of organizational complexity.”
Shell is not the only big oil company reeling. In June, BP said it was cutting around 10,000 jobs from its workforce to deal with the impact of the virus.
Shell also said it anticipates third-quarter production to be between 2.15 million and 2.25 million barrels of oil equivalent a day. However, daily production levels have been impacted by between 60,000 and 70,000 barrels because of hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico.