BP trims 500 jobs in North Sea oil operations

by The Associated Press

BP is cutting 500 jobs in its North Sea oil operations, representing 16 percent of its work force in oil extraction operations.

“Most of the onshore employees affected will leave the company by the middle of the year and offshore employees by the end of the year,” the company said in late March.

It said it should know next month how many of the cuts can be achieved voluntarily.

Scott Urban, BP’s group vice president for northwest Europe, said a cost-cutting review had focused on all aspects of the company’s operations in this area.

“Unfortunately, as we restructure our operations, around 200 BP jobs will be lost from our Aberdeen headquarters, and around 300 further jobs across the remainder of the company’s onshore facilities around the U.K. and from offshore,” he said.

BP said it employs around 3,100 staff directly in its British extraction business — 1,800 on shore and 1,300 offshore.

“It seems that the North Sea bonanza is behind us,” said Danny Carrigan, Scottish regional secretary of the Amicus union. “One thing is for sure — we will fight enforced and compulsory redundancies, and I will be arguing that safety must not be compromised in any shape or form.”