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.
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.”
