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Norway's Statoil to lay off up to 2,000 staff, consultants

Xinhua, June 16, 2015 Adjust font size:

Norwegian oil and gas company Statoil said on Tuesday that it plans to lay off up to 1,500 staff and 500 consultants by the end of 2016 to increase its efficiency.

"The effort to standardise, simplify and increase efficiency across Statoil enters the next phase. The potential workforce reduction is estimated at 1,100 to 1,500 permanent employees by end 2016," the company said in a press release.

Statoil will also reduce the number of consultants by around 525, it said, adding that the estimate for workforce reductions reflects the company's efficiency potential and further corporate improvements over the coming 18 months.

"We regret the need for further reductions, but the improvements are necessary to strengthen Statoil's competitiveness and secure our future value creation," Anders Opedal, executive vice president and chief operating officer in Statoil, was quoted as saying.

Statoil said the improvement programme and strict capital expenditure prioritization were initiated in 2013 to address the industry wide cost and competitiveness challenge, well ahead of the current downturn.

Statoil's workforce has been reduced by 1,340 permanent employees and 995 external consultants since the end of 2013, the company said. Endit