Chief executive Bernard Looney says the roles will be office-based and come mostly this year. The company’s current global workforce is 70,000.

The changes are expected to significantly impact senior levels, cutting the number of group leaders by a third. The company says it will make the senior structure flatter.

The job cuts come amid a time of tremendous change for BP. The energy producer has said it wants to eliminate or offset all carbon emissions from its operations and the oil and gas it sells to customers by 2050, an ambitious target born out of pressure to help combat climate change and keep making money.

The global energy industry has meanwhile been hit hard by the pandemic as the widespread limits on business, travel and public life reduced the need for oil, gas and other fuels.

Supply was also particularly high when the outbreak began, creating a perfect storm for the industry. With storage facilities filling up, the US price of oil went below zero in April for the first time.

-AAP

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