UK supermajor Shell has reportedly started to slash hundreds more jobs, with employees in its low-carbon solutions being among those first to the shown the door.
Staff this week were informed of details of the job cuts, after a broader plan for layoffs was announced internally in December, company insiders told Bloomberg on the condition of anonymity.
Employees in the corporate affairs division have also been notified that they could face the axe, and other Shell departments could also see headcount reductions.
Chief executive Wael Sawan, who took the helm at the start of 2023 on an annual base salary of around $1.7 million, has vowed to be “ruthless” in improving the company’s performance and increasing investor returns.
A Shell spokesperson on Friday told Upstream: “Shell aims to create more value with less emissions by focusing on performance, discipline and simplification across the business.
“That includes delivering structural operating cost reductions of $2 billion to $3 billion by the end of 2025, as announced at our Capital Markets Day event in June 2023. Achieving those reductions will require portfolio high grading, new efficiencies and a leaner overall organisation.”
Article continues below the advert
Upstream understand the job losses are part of Shell’s overall performance drive and that headcount reduction is not an end in itself.
A Shell spokesperson last month confirmed the company’s ongoing right-sizing plan to Upstream but did not elaborate on the number of jobs that could be lost.
“While no formal targets exist, we will continuously look to right-size the activities that deliver the most value,” he said at the time.
The energy behemoth last October said that 200 jobs in its low-carbon solutions — about 15% of the total — would be lost with a further 130 positions up for review.
Updated to include comment from Shell.