Shell, Chevron Plan Fresh Job Cuts
Shell and Chevron are set to have marked about 250 fresh staff for disengagement. This shows the lingering recession seems to be biting hard on International Oil Companies (IOCs) operating in Nigeria.
According to reports, the two companies have begun entrepreneurship valedictory training for some of these staffs.
It was further gathered that the companies have approved about N50bn severance packages for some 1,700 in Nigeria. This is out of 25,000 workers slated for sack in their global operations.
Executive Director of the FATE foundation, an entrepreneurial group, Adenike Adeyemi, confirmed this development. She said her foundation was one of the groups engaged in talks with oil companies. This is to provide Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) skills acquisition for staff who are to be disengaged.
“One of the oil majors is particularly in talks with our foundation on the training and this will commence very soon. We are progressing with talks with one of the big oil companies, the MSME is so critical to get our economy out of recession.”
Adeyemi stated that the SME landscape shows that it contributes 48.7% to Nigeria’s GDP. This is far above the contribution of oil and gas sector.
“We also have a large market for SMEs in Nigeria based on our population. This made it imperative for the government to focus funding and investments in the sector,” she said.
Mass Sack Continues
Meanwhile, the gale of mass sack rocking the industry is far from being over. A top source at one of the IOCs has revealed.
“In all, about 250 staff in the non-core areas of our operations is still being pencilled down for right sizing. The training you talked about is part of the global standard. A way of ensuring that they are well placed and engaged in the SMEs after they have left the oil industry”.
Woes Continue For IOCs
ExxonMobil and Chevron have also declared losses of over $2bn in just three months that accounted for the third quarter of 2016.
Like other oil and gas companies, low oil prices prompted the company to cut capital expenditures (CAPEX). They had earlier engaged in cost-cutting including downsizing.
Oil workers last week lamented that Pan Ocean, Ground Petroleum, among others, were leaving the country. The prevailing economic recession has led to the sacking of about 3,000 oil workers.
