Saturday 5 September 2009
Oil giant planning job cuts of 15%
Report claims many Shell staff will have to reapply for their posts
By David Telfer
Published: 05/09/2009
Royal Dutch Shell is planning job cuts of about 15% in its core exploration and production business, according to a report released yesterday.
The document, which cited sources inside the oil major, also said an announcement on a restructuring of the business is due on Monday, September 14, and that many staff would be forced to re-apply for their jobs.
The Press and Journal reported in July that Shells new chief executive, Peter Voser, was planning substantial cuts in the groups worldwide workforce of 102,000, although he refused to give numbers.
Shell employs about 2,000 people in Aberdeen, but it is unclear at this stage how many may go.
Mr Voser did say, however, that ongoing changes will result in significant staff reductions.
The group said in July it had already cut 20% of its top management positions from 750 to 600.
The shake-up is expected to involve the merger of three upstream units into two new divisions Upstream International and Upstream Americas.
Like most majors, Shell is facing a steep drop in profits after oil prices fell from a peak of £90 a barrel in July 2008 to about £43 a barrel now. For the second quarter of this year, net profits at Shell fell 66.9% on a year earlier to £2.36billion.
The restructuring is understood to be aimed at cutting layers of management, in line with similar efforts at BP two years ago and emulating ExxonMobils model. It is thought simplifying the structure could speed up decision-making and ensure projects come on stream faster.
That is understood to be a key objective for a company which has been heavily criticised for delays and cost over-runs at some of its most high-profile projects.
A Shell spokeswoman last night said: We are working through the design of the rest of the organisation below senior management levels and undertaking staff consultation processes.
Ultimately a more efficient company and operations will be able to sustain higher levels of performance in the North Sea than would otherwise be the case.
Until our work on the organisational design and consultation is complete, there are no firm details on numbers within Europe or Aberdeen.
This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.
Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
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A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
