LONDON (AP) – UK-based oil company BP is cutting 4,700 jobs and another 3,000 contractor roles worldwide as part of a cost-saving drive.
In an email to staff Thursday, seen by The Associated Press, CEO Murray Auchincloss said the job losses “account for much of the expected cutbacks this year.”
The cuts represent just 5% of BP’s 90,000 worldwide workforce. About 2,600 contractors involved in the job cuts have already gone out of business, Auchincloss’ memo said.
Last October, the company said it had identified $500 million in cost savings to be delivered this year, a quarter of the $2 billion-ahead goal it set in April by the end of 2026.
Auchincloss said the company is “focusing resources on our high-value opportunities” and that it has put 30 projects on hold or on hold since June.
The cuts come as BP looks to bring more digital capabilities to the business, with artificial intelligence increasingly playing a role in engineering and marketing operations.
In April, Auchincloss announced plans to save $2 billion (£1.6 billion) by the end of 2026.
The plan is designed in part to revive the company’s flagging share price, which has fallen nearly 20% since last spring.
BP has also pulled back from several renewable energy projects, and abandoned a previous plan to cut oil and gas production by 40% by 2030, according to media reports.
Auchincloss, however, said the company is still “uniquely positioned to drive value through the energy transition,” but it needs to “continue to improve our competitiveness and move at the pace of our customers and society.”
It comes days after BP delayed an investor event in New York to allow the CEO to recover after a medical procedure. Its scheduled capital markets event, which was scheduled for February 11, has been postponed to February 26 and will be held in London “to ensure his full recovery”.
