THE new boss of oil giant Shell yesterday publicly admitted “substantial” staff cuts are likely among the worldwide workforce.
The comment from chief executive Peter Voser will heighten fears among the 2,000-plus people working from Aberdeen that they will be targeted.
Mr Voser refused to say how many posts among the global workforce of 102,000 could be under threat in the major restructuring which started earlier this year. The company currently employs 8,500 people in the UK.
A Shell spokeswoman said reorganisation would be complete by the end of this year.
Mr Voser yesterday said the company had already reduced worldwide top management positions by about 150, down to 600.
Analysts expect up to 10,000 jobs worldwide could go at Shell.
Mr Voser said the restructuring, Transition 2009, would simplify the company. He added: “Shell needs to become a more efficient company, with faster decision-making, sharper implementation of strategy, and more focus on costs and value.”
One Aberdeen worker said everyone in Shell’s operation locally was still in the dark. “It’s also a bit of a surprise that the company plans to have the exercise done by the end of this year, this sort of thing would normally take it years,” added the worker.
Jake Molloy, organiser for the RMT union in Aberdeen, had heard Shell planned to cut 20% of staff involved in engineering and support at the Shell offices in the Granite City.
He did not expect much impact on Shell’s offshore workforce, however.
Shell yesterday announced a 70% slide in profits to £1.4billion in the second quarter of 2009.
The UK-Dutch company’s boss said the weak global economy had impacted its performance in the second quarter.
Collins Stewart analyst Gordon Gray said: “It seems clear Mr Voser views the 2009 plan as the beginning of changes needed. We expect Shell to ultimately cut several thousand of its 102,000 employees, and believe additional cost gains from restructuring could be over £1.22billion.”