Shell and BG Group plan to lay off 10,000 employees and direct contractors over the next two years as they near completion of their proposed merger. Shell reduced its operating costs by $4 billion in 2015 and expects $3 billion more this year as it weeds out redundancies alongside BG.
It continues a trend of mass layoffs and cost cutting by oil majors since crude prices began their collapse in the fall of 2014. Shell saw its income from oil exploration and production fall from $1.73 billion to between $400 million and $500 million in the fourth quarter, while its downstream income was essentially flat.
Shell CEO Ben Van Beurden said the merger with BG is expected to wrap up “in a matter of weeks.”
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