Petronas to cut workforce by 10pct

Summary

• About 10 percent of the Petronas workforce will be cut due to falling crude oil prices and the unpredictable market affecting its profits.

• This will affect more than 5,000 people.

Petronas will be cutting its workforce by about 10 percent to reduce costs amid falling crude oil prices and the effect of unpredictable market fluctuations on its profits.

Its president and group CEO Tengku Taufik Tengku Kamadjaja Aziz said this will affect more than 5,000 people, who will be informed by the end of the year.

Aside from the company-wide restructuring, all promotion and hiring activities will be frozen until December 2026, Bloomberg cited him as saying during a briefing in Kuala Lumpur today.

According to the report, Petronas' profits had fallen by 32 percent last year, after a 21 percent decline the previous year.

"The challenges are slated to continue this year, in part due to a continued decline in Brent crude prices," it said.

On Feb 27, Taufik said Petronas was evaluating its workforce "rightsizing" exercise, adding that it should be finalised by mid-2025.

He denied that it would only affect lower-level employees, saying that it would first involve those from management upwards.

At the time, he asserted that mass layoffs were not an option.

"As reported by many, we do have 15,000 to 16,000 enablers that include all aspects of the support functions. Are you inferring that the reports which say that I am going to wipe out 16,000 (jobs) are correct?

"It is impossible. We need to look at this judiciously and allow the business to spell out its needs," Bernama quoted him as saying.

Those affected will be dealt with respectfully and equitably, he added.

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