New BP chief begins reign with warning over jobs axe

BERNARD LOONEY, the new chief executive of BP, is preparing to cut jobs as part of his radical overhaul of the energy giant to meet its net zero carbon ambitions.

Last week, he announced plans to replace BP’s existing business structure, which splits its producing arm and selling arm, with 11 new units. And now he has told the MoS that job cuts across BP’s 70,000 employees worldwide are ‘very possible’.

BP said its new leadership team will finish ‘defining their organisations’ by the summer.

A spokesman added: ‘Reducing staff numbers is not the objective of the reorganisation but, as it is put in place and BP transforms, there will be reductions over time over the next few years.’

Looney last week pledged to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

He will set out targets for achieving that goal at a capital markets day in September.

BP’s challenge is to keep paying its £6million dividend while also reducing debt and investing in renewable energy.

BP has cut its exploration budget by two-thirds since 2013, and will reduce its oil and gas production by 2050.

However, Looney added: ‘BP is going to be in oil and gas for a long time. That’s a fact.’

Former BP boss Lord Browne, who took a front row seat at last week’s presentation, admitted BP’s green energy transition has been ‘an uphill struggle’.