Employment

Schlumberger cuts another 11,000 jobs as oil industry braces for next wave

April 17, 2015 | Company Operations, Employment

Workforce reduced by 15% since oil fall London, UK | – Schlumberger Ltd., the world’s largest oilfield services provider, will eliminate an additional 11,000 positions in a sign the industry will undergo another round of job cuts as a result of tumbling crude prices. The latest announced reductions bring the company’s total to 20,000, making its workforce about 15% smaller than it was during third-quarter 2014. Schlumberger had announced plans in January to eliminate 9,000 positions, in what was then the single largest cut in the industry. Energy …

Shell to double North Sea job cuts despite UK oil industry tax cuts

March 26, 2015 | Employment, North Sea & Western Europe

London, UK | – The Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne’s recent tax reform of the UK oil industry has failed to stop Royal Dutch Shell from doubling its planned job cuts at its North Sea operations. As part of a worldwide plan to manage costs, Shell UK will reduce the number of staff and agency contractors who support its UK North Sea operations by “at least 250” in 2015 on top of the 250 job losses announced last August. The company on Thursday morning told …

Shell makes sixth offer to U.S. oil workers amid strike

February 05, 2015 | Company Operations, Employment, United States & Canada

Houston, Texas U.S | – Royal Dutch Shell Plc made a sixth contract offer to the United Steelworkers union on behalf of oil companies amid the biggest U.S. refinery strike since 1980. Shell, representing several oil companies in bargaining, made the offer to the USW during negotiations Wednesday and the union will respond Thursday, Lynne Hancock, a USW spokeswoman, said by e-mail. Talks continued Wednesday, Shell said in a statement. The union, representing employees at more than 200 refineries, terminals, pipelines and chemical plants, began …

Halliburton, Baker Hughes to lay off thousands as oil slumps

January 21, 2015 | Company Operations, Employment, Oilfield Services

London, UK | – Two of the world’s largest oil field service providers Baker Hughes Inc and Halliburton Corporation plan to cut thousands of jobs as drilling activity slows further due to a steep fall in crude oil prices. Global oil prices have tumbled almost 60 percent since June, hitting five-year lows as growing production and tepid global demand has caused a supply glut and prompted oil producers to scale back spending. “We expect our headcount adjustments to be in line with our primary competitors,” …

Schlumberger cuts 9,000 jobs amid plummeting oil prices

January 16, 2015 | Company Operations, Employment

Slashes 7% of global workforce London, UK | – Schlumberger Ltd, the world’s biggest oilfield-services company, tackled the “uncertain environment” of plummeting crude prices head-on by cutting about 9,000 jobs and reducing costs. Anticipating lower spending by customers this year, Schlumberger is decreasing its workforce by 7.1 percent and seeking to lower operating costs at a unit that helps producers find oil and natural gas, the Houston- and Paris-based company said in an earnings report Thursday. Coping with oil prices near 5 1/2-year lows, energy …

BP, ConocoPhillips to cut over 500 North Sea jobs as oil prices fall

January 15, 2015 | Employment, North Sea & Western Europe

London, UK | – Multinational oil and gas majors BP PLC and ConocoPhillips Corporation will cut over 500 jobs in the North Sea following similar moves by rivals to reduce costs in one of the world’s most expensive exploration areas as oil prices tumble. Although the cuts are relatively small for companies with dozens of thousands of employees, they come at a politically sensitive time in Britain as the Scottish independence debate continues and a May parliamentary election looms. BP said the cuts of 200 …

Gabon’s oil workers start strike, petrol queues appear

December 03, 2014 | Employment, Gabon

Libreville, Gabon | – Oil workers in Gabon began an open-ended, industry-wide strike on Monday night after talks with the government collapsed, union ONEP said, and long queues formed at gas stations on Tuesday on fear of shortages. The trade union had been in negotiations with authorities of the Central African country for several weeks, demanding the reinstatement of some workers who had been fired by oil companies, among other issues. “The national bureau informs you of the start of an unlimited general strike in …

Statoil CEO resigns to join BG Group as Europe’s Best-Paid Oil Executive

October 15, 2014 | Employment, North Sea & Western Europe

BG Group lured Helge Lund to UK with generous pay and relocation package London, UK | –  Statoil’s long-serving chief executive Helge Lund unexpectedly quit on Wednesday to take on the top role at smaller rival BG, where he has been promised a big pay rise if he can turn round the flagging British gas and oil producer. Lund, who in 10 years transformed Norway’s once domestic-focused state oil firm into a $77 billion international major, now faces a new set of problems at BG, …