BP cuts 10% of its electric vehicle workforce
BP has cut more than a tenth of the workforce in its electric vehicle (EV) charging business and pulled it out of several markets after a bet on rapid growth in commercial EV fleets did not pay off, company sources said.
The changes at BP Pulse are part of CEO Murray Auchincloss’s efforts to focus on the British company’s most profitable segments as it battles investor doubts over its plan to shift away from oil and gas to lowcarbon energy.
BP Pulse reduced the number of countries it operates in from 12 to four in recent months, focusing now on the US, Britain, Germany and China, where it expects the fastest growth in the EV market, BP said.
The division has axed over 100 jobs in recent months, or more than 10 per cent of its global workforce of 900, with many employees being moved into other divisions and only a handful leaving the company. BP did not comment on the exact numbers of jobs that were cut.
The move comes as carmakers across the world tighten their belts amid a slower-than-expected uptake of EVs. EV pioneer Tesla will lay off more than 10 per cent of its global workforce, as it grapples with falling sales and an intensifying price war for EVs.
BP Pulse has also stepped away from other aspects of its energy transition strategy under previous group chief executive Bernard Looney in 2020.
It expected commercial car fleets would be first and fastest to switch to EVs at scale, but that did not pan out.
“We thought fleets would move first. But given recessionary pressures and some relief from governments, fleets have slowed down,” Mr Auchincloss said. BP last May also shut down its home EV charging business and now focuses mostly on fast-charging hubs. It says it expects returns from its EV charging and convenience stores operations to exceed 15 per cent and create $1.5bn (£1.2bn) in earnings
EV charging, however, remains one of five key growth engines for BP, which is betting on customers spending more time at its convenience sites while powering up their cars using fast chargers.