SCHLUMBERGER is to cut 21,000 jobs — roughly a fifth of its workforce – with a total of around £783 million being set aside for severance costs.
The Houston-headquartered firm did not say how many roles were affected in the north-east, where its understood hundreds of people are employed.
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But they did say 18,000 of the 21,000 positions were removed by the end of June.
Schlumberger made its announcement in its half-year results, which showed pre-tax losses of more than £9 billion.
That’s compared to profits of around £862 million for the corresponding period in 2019.
The oilfield services giant’s first-half revenues fell by around a quarter to £10 billion with bosses putting the losses down to “historic oil demand and supply imbalances” as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Olivier Le Peuch, Schlumberger chief executive said the second quarter had probably been “the most challenging quarter in past decades”.
He said: “We believe the decisive and comprehensive measures we have taken to face the industry reality will continue to protect our liquidity and cash positions and allow us to expand our margins.”
