Shell plans to cut 330 jobs from UK team

The majority of the losses are expected to be office-based roles

(PA)

Shell has announced plans to cut 330 jobs from its North Sea operations in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

In September, the oil giant revealed plans to cut between 7,000 and 9,000 jobs globally in response to a collapse in demand for oil during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The UK upstream side of the business will be affected in this latest round of cuts, with about 1,330 positions being reduced to around 1,000 over the next two years.

The majority of the losses are expected to be office-based roles in Aberdeen. However, many of the roles under threat are related to older platforms – such as Brent Charlie, which is due to be decommissioned in the next couple of years – and investment projects coming to an end.

Frontline operations at North Sea platforms and gas plants will be broadly unaffected, with Shell maintaining it is still committed to investing in the region.

A spokesperson for Shell said: “We are undergoing and implementing a strategic review of the organisation, which intends to ensure we are set up to thrive throughout the energy transition and be a simpler organisation.

“As indicated last year, because of the efficiencies we expect to gain we will reduce between 7,000 and 9,000 jobs globally by the end of 2022.

“We are on track with that process.”

Last year, Shell said it was going through a $2.5bn-a-year cost-cutting plan to deal with the falling price of fossil fuels.

The total job cuts include about 1,500 voluntary redundancies and will be completed by the end of 2022.

Additional reporting by PA

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