Shell increases job cuts target by 20%

[LONDON] Royal Dutch Shell will increase the number of job cuts in 2015 and 2016 by around 20 per cent to at least 12,500 as a result of low oil prices and the integration of BG Group, it said on Wednesday.

The Anglo-Dutch company will reduce the size of its UK and Ireland oil and gas production, or upstream unit, by 475 throughout 2016, it said in a statement.

Shell started offering employees in Britain and the Netherlands voluntary redundancy last month.

REUTERS