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Shell to drop up to 9,000 staff

as part of reorganisation

GLOBAL ROYAL Dutch Shell has announced it will axe levels between me, as the CEO, and the opera-
up to 9,000 jobs or more than 10% of its work- tors and technicians at our locations,” CEO Ben
The company is looking force, as part of cost-cutting measures aimed at van Beurden explained in an internal interview
to streamline itself to better preparing the company for a lower-carbon posted on the firm’s website.
prepare for the move future. Many mid-level employees also have a rela-
into lower-carbon Shell has launched a reorganisation drive tively small number of people reporting to them,
energy. which it says should yield $2.0-2.5bn in annual he said.
cost savings, in addition to $3-4bn of cuts it “In some cases there are good reasons for
announced earlier this year. Cuts will be spread that, but as a principle we are looking to remove
across the company’s upstream, refining and that complexity, and cost, so we can be the nim-
integrated gas businesses. ble, efficient and customer-focused company we
The upstream focus will be on generating need to be,” he said.
“strong and resilient” cash flow, Shell said. The Shell will look at travel and the use of con-
number of refineries it owns will drop to under tractors as other areas to make savings, and will
10 from 17 at present, and Shell will look to inte- explore additional opportunities such as the use
grate its remaining facilities more closely with its of remote working.
chemicals and trading operations. By streamlining itself, Shell says it will be bet-
At its integrated gas business, Shell will ter positioned to operate in the power sector and
expand in LNG markets and customer-led in renewables, where margins are typically lower
energy solutions, while seeking to lower its car- than for oil and gas.
bon emissions. The Anglo-Dutch giant also warned it would
The reorganisation will involve 7,000-9,000 of take on a further $1.0-1.5bn impairment charge
job cuts, including some 1,500 workers that have in the third quarter. Its upstream business is
agreed to take voluntary redundancy this year. expected to book a loss, as it did in the second
Shell’s total workforce was 83,000 strong at the quarter, owing to low prices and output cuts.
end of last year. Shell anticipates a sharp fall in production to
“We have looked closely at how we are organ- 2.97-3.11mn barrels of oil equivalent per day in
ised and we feel that, in many places, we have the third quarter, partly because of Gulf of Mex-
too many layers in the company: too many ico hurricanes that led to platform closures. ™

Week 39 01•October•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P17