Shell confirms job cuts in Norway

Oil giant Shell has confirmed it will be making job cuts in Norway as workload on projects reduces.

Following last week’s reports by the Norwegian oil workers’ union Safe that Shell would be laying off both permanent workers and contractors, due to completion of projects at Draugen and Nyanma, this has been confirmed by a Shell Norway spokesperson to Offshore Energy Today.

“With our operated fields moving into a mature phase and Norske Shell now coming out of a period with major project activity which has required a larger and more complex organisation, we have initiated a process to improve our organisational structures and right-size the organisation for the activity levels we see for the coming future,” the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said that following consultations with employee representatives and unions, details on how the “new” organisation will look have been shared in departmental meetings and a Town Hall (29.3) for the whole company.

“The planned organisational adjustments entail a reduction of 75 employee positions. This will bring Norske Shell’s total number of employee positions from 680 to 605. We have also announced that 156 contracts with hired staff are likely to be impacted by the planned changes. Norske Shell employees will be given the opportunity to apply for selective voluntary severance packages.”

“The upcoming organisational changes have been worked together with employee representatives and unions, as well as consulted on. For example, for Draugen and Nyhamna, work groups with staff representatives have together developed and evaluated different scenarios which led to the consulted proposals. This work has been going on for the last 6-12 months. We are committed to implement organisational changes fairly and in a transparent manner, and in line with  Norwegian law and agreements,” the spokesperson ended.

Offshore Energy Today Staff