Coronavirus: BP plans to cut 15% of global workforce due to drop in demand

BP has said it plans to cut 15% of its global workforce as a response to the drop in demand for fuel caused by the coronavirus crisis.

Chief executive Bernard Looney first told colleagues in a conference call that the company will cut 10,000 jobs from its current strength of 70,000 employees - most of them by the end of the year.

While the company has not revealed how many jobs are being impacted in the UK, in a follow-up email to staff Mr Looney said most jobs lost will be office-based, "not front-line operation roles."

He said: "We are protecting the frontline of the company and, as always, prioritizing safe and reliable operations."The company will also be axing one in three senior level roles from its current 400 group leaders, as well as freezing pay for those that remain for the rest of the year.However, Mr Looney, who only took over as chief executive in February, said the company will reinstate annual pay rises to its junior and mid-graded staff from October.

The entire oil sector has faced intense pressure since nationwide lockdowns around the world caused a steep drop in demand for oil, sending prices into negative territory for the first time in its history.The FTSE100 company said it will reduce wage bills by more than $2.5bn by 2021 -- as it was currently spending $8bn annually on its workforce.

Earlier this year, the new chief executive set out a plan to "reinvent" the oil company within a new global energy system to help tackle climate change.

BP had said the strategy included a goal of becoming net carbon zero by 2050, if not before.

Mr Looney added: "To me, the broader economic picture and our own financial position just reaffirm the need to reinvent BP.

"While the external environment is driving us to move faster - and perhaps go deeper at this stage than we originally intended - the direction of travel remains the same."