CEO Bernard Looney told employees on Monday that the oil giant will reduce its global workforce by almost 15% this year. Most cuts will affect office work.
Brent crude oil futures, the global benchmark for oil prices, reached their lowest level in decades in April, falling below $ 20 a barrel. Since then they made a comeback and last traded above $ 42 a barrel. But that is still far below where prices started this year.
“Oil prices have fallen far below the level we need to make a profit,” Looney, who took over BP’s top position earlier this year, said in an email to employees. “We spend a lot, a lot more than we make – I’m talking millions of dollars, every day.”
BP also announced that senior leaders will not get a salary increase until March 2021. It was also “very unlikely” to pay cash bonuses for 2020, the company added.
The company has so far resisted pressure to cut payments to shareholders, despite a $ 6 billion increase in net debt in the first quarter. The council said it would reconsider whether it would be able to pay dividends every quarter.
– Chris Liakos contributed reporting.
