700 jobs under threat at oil giant
ENERGY giant Shell is set to close its Manchester office where 700 people work, in the wake of plunging oil prices.
Also closing as part of its cost-cutting drive are the former BG Group headquarters at Thames Valley Park in Reading and BG’s offices in Albyn Place, Aberdeen.
Although Shell employs 700 staff at its Manchester, the company says about half that number work from home.
The oil giant has already said lower oil prices and its merger with BG Group would lead to 10,300 job losses.
Some 7,500 job cuts have already been made through an efficiency drive, with a further 2,800 jobs also lost from its tie-up with BG Group.
Shell said Manchester workers may be given the option of home working or relocation following the closure of Brabazon House.
Huibert Vigeveno, BG Group chief executive, revealed the office shake-up during an announcement at the Thames Valley Park.
He said: “We now have the outcomes of the UK office footprint review. One of the review’s recommendations was to consolidate all Shell’s London and South East based operations into central London.
“Our intention is therefore to close the Thames Valley Park campus by the end of this year.
“The review also recommended that all Aberdeen-based onshore operations move to the Shell Aberdeen Tullos office, with BG’s offices at Albyn Place closing by the end of this year, and the closure of Shell’s Brabazon House office in Manchester by the end of 2017.”
The cost of crude has collapsed by more than 70% since a peak of around 115 US dollars a barrel in the summer of 2014.
Shell saw full-year earnings tumble to $3.8bn (£2.6bn) in 2015 from $19bn (£13bn) in 2014, when it reported its annual results at the beginning of February.
