The Buzz | BP to cut 10,000 jobs worldwide amid virus pandemic

Oil and gas company BP announced Monday that it will slash its global workforce by 10,000 jobs as the COVID-19 pandemic slams the energy industry.
Chief Executive Bernard Looney said that the cuts will affect office-based roles in BP’s global workforce of 70,000 people and come mostly this year. The changes are expected to significantly affect senior levels, cutting the number of group leaders by a third.
“We are spending much, much more than we make – I am talking millions of dollars, every day,’’ Looney said in an email to staff that revealed that net debt rose by $6 billion in the first quarter. “We have to spend less money.”
He pledged to bring down capital expenditure by 25% this year, a reduction of around $3 billion. He also said that it costs $22 billion a year to run the company, including $8 billion in people costs.
The job cuts come at a time of tremendous change for London-based BP. It had already embarked on a restructuring plan to ensure its long-term viability as the world decreases its reliance on fossil fuels in an effort to fight climate change.