EQUINOR has confirmed it is to make significant job cuts in the UK, Canada and USA, with its Aberdeen workforce included.
A company spokesman told news agency Reuters the move was in response to falling oil prices.
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The group, which has four offices in the UK, but its main oil and gas operations base in Aberdeen, plans to reduce employee numbers by about 20% and contractor numbers by around half.
The spokesman could not specify the number of employees that would be affected, but confirmed it would not involve asset sales.
Equinor’s global headcount sat at 21,000 as of last year, with its US office second in size to Norway.
A spokeswoman for Equnior, said: “Our industry and societies around us are experiencing an unprecedented and disruptive transformation.
“To deliver on our strategy in a low margin environment, we must increase our competitiveness and carefully assess our operational and organisational efficiency, with the aim of reducing cost-levels.
“As a result, we have initiated a process to increase efficiency and reduce cost in our international upstream organisation, which will result in a reduction in our workforce. Equinor’s Aberdeen organisation is part of this process.”
