BP to cut 10,000 jobs as virus hits demand for oil

Published 8 June 2020 BBC

BP has announced plans to cut 10,000 jobs following a global slump in demand for oil
because of the coronavirus crisis.

The oil giant had paused redundancies during the peak of the pandemic but told staff on
Monday that around 15% will leave by the end of the year.

BP has not said how many jobs will be lost in the UK but it is thought the figure could be
close to 2,000.

Chief executive Bernard Looney blamed a drop in the oil price for the cuts.

Losing millions
In an email to staff, he said: "The oil price has plunged well below the level we need to turn a
profit.

"We are spending much, much more than we make - I am talking millions of dollars, every
day."

Countries across the globe have ordered people to stay indoors and not travel, which has
caused a slump in demand for oil. As a result, the cost of oil fell to less than $20 a barrel at
the peak of the crisis, less than a third of the $66 it cost at the start of the year. It has since
partly recovered to around $42 a barrel.

That has taken a toll on the industry, sparking warnings that 30,000 UK jobs could be lost as a
result of the crisis.

BP employs around 15,000 people in the UK. The firm's office-based workers are expected to
bear the brunt of the redundancies, which will not affect any of its retail staff.

"It was always part of the plan to make BP a leaner, faster-moving and lower carbon
company," Mr Looney - who took over as the boss of BP in February - said in his email to
staff on Monday.

"Then the COVID-19 pandemic took hold," he said. "You are already aware that, beyond the
clear human tragedy, there has been widespread economic fallout, along with consequences
for our industry and our company."

Deirdre Michie, the chief executive of industry group Oil and Gas UK (OGUK), said the
planned redundancies highlighted the "very real and personal" impact of the coronavirus
pandemic on jobs and livelihoods.

"There is a serious risk the UK loses the skills it needs not only to meet existing energy
demands from domestic resources, but also to meet the UK's climate ambitions," she said.