BP has cut 4,700 jobs worldwide as part of a cost-savings drive

LONDON (AP) — U.K.-based oil company BP is cutting 4,700 jobs worldwide and another 3,000 contractor jobs as part of a cost-saving drive.

In an email to employees Thursday seen by The Associated Press, CEO Murray Auchincloss said the job losses “account for much of the reduction expected this year.”

The cuts amount to just over 5% of BP’s 90,000 employees worldwide. About 2,600 contractors involved in the job cuts have already left the job, Auchincloss’ memo said.

Last October, the company said it had identified $500 million in cost savings to be achieved this year, a quarter of the $2 billion target set in April by the end of 2026.

Auchincloss said the company is “focusing resources on our highest value opportunities” and that it has halted or halted 30 projects since June.

The cuts come as BP tries to bring more digital capabilities into the business, with artificial intelligence playing an increasing role in engineering and marketing operations.

In April, Auchincloss announced a plan to save $2bn (£1.6bn) by the end of 2026.

The plan is designed in part to revitalize the company’s sagging stock price, which has fallen about 20% since last spring.

BP has also withdrawn from a number of renewable energy projects and, according to media reports, abandoned an earlier plan to cut oil and gas production by 40% by 2030.

However, Auchincloss said the company remains “uniquely positioned to drive value through the energy transition,” but needs to “continue to improve our competitiveness and move at the pace of our customers and society.”

It comes days after BP postponed an investor event that was scheduled to be held in New York to allow the CEO to recover after a medical procedure. The capital markets event scheduled for February 11 has been postponed until February 26 and will be held in London “to ensure its full recovery.”