The Anglo-Dutch company said on Wednesday that it would cut 7,000 to 9,000 positions by the end of 2022, potentially affecting more than 10% of its workforce. The total includes 1,500 people who have left the company to volunteer this year.
“We need to become a simpler, more streamlined, more competitive organization that is as agile and capable as it is accountable to customers.” CEO Ben Van Burden said in a statement. “Make no mistake: this is an extremely difficult process. It is very painful to know that you will end up saying goodbye to so many good people,” he added.
Shell is committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions from its own operations by 2050. The company will still produce little oil and gas by that date, but it will sell “primarily” low-carbon electricity, low-carbon biofuels and hydrogen, Van Burden said Wednesday.
“We have to have a net zero in all our operations, which means big changes in refineries, chemical sites, shoreline and sh fashore production facilities,” he added.
In the future, the company will use its oil exploration and manufacturing business to generate cash that can be invested in low-carbon products. The department will no longer focus on how many barrels of oil or solid feet of gas it produces.
Shell will also shrink its refining business. “We will keep what we need strategically and integrate the refineries with our chemical business, which we plan to grow,” said Van Bourden.
Some analysts believe that global demand for oil will never return to its 2019 record, expecting the epidemic to permanently change people’s lives and travel patterns – and force consumers to force companies and governments to address the climate crisis more urgently.
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