Energy producer Royal Dutch Shell said Wednesday it’s planning to cut between 7,000 and 9,000 jobs worldwide by the end of 2022 following a collapse in demand for oil and a subsequent slide in prices during the coronavirus pandemic.
The company said around 1,500 employees have already agreed to take voluntary redundancy this year and that it’s looking at a raft of other areas where it can cut costs, such as travel, its use of contractors and virtual working. Overall, it said it expects the cost-cutting measures to secure annual cost savings of between $2 billion and $2.5 billion by 2022.
“We have to be a simpler, more streamlined, more competitive organization that is more nimble and able to respond to customers,” Ben van Beurden, the company’s chief executive, said.
