The Hague-based LNG giant Shell aims to slash up to 9,000 job due to the oil and gas market slump and as part of a major overhaul to shift to low-carbon energy.
This represents about 10 percent of the total Shell worhoforce as the major had 83,000 employees at the end of 2019.
Furthermore, Shell said that the reorganisation will lead to additional annual savings of around $2-$2.5 billion by 2022.
This will partially contribute to the previously announced underlying operating cost reduction of $3-$4 billion by the first quarter 2021.
Shell expects to cut 7,000 to 9,000 jobs by the end of 2022, including some 1,500 people who have agreed to take voluntary redundancy this year.
The firm did not explain where the cuts would happen.
“Right thing to do”
Shell chief executive Ben van Beurden said the job-cutting programme will be “an extremely tough process”.
“It is very painful to know that you will end up saying goodbye to quite a few good people,” he said. “But we are doing this because we have to, because it is the right thing to do for the future of the company.”
He said Shell had to be “a simpler, more streamlined, more competitive organisation that is more nimble and able to respond to customers”.
Additionally, the simpler, streamlined and lower-cost organisation will focus on several key points.
These include accelerating value in upstream and growing integrated gas with a focus on unlocking new and expanding existing LNG markets.
Shell allso aims to become a “customer-focused organisation”, providing low and zero-carbon solutions through the integrated power, biofuels and hydrogen businesses.