The restructuring events database contains factsheets with data on large-scale restructuring events reported in the principal national media and company websites in each EU Member State. This database was created in 2002.
Bergen, Trondheim, Harstad, Stavanger and offshore
Sector
Mining / Quarrying Mining And Quarrying Extraction Of Crude Petroleum And Natural Gas 06.1 - Extraction of crude petroleum
150 - 2,400 jobs Number of planned job losses
Announcement Date
10 October 2014
Employment effect (start)
1 January 2015
Foreseen end date
1 January 2017
Description
Norwegian oil company Statoil is restructuring and will be cutting 350 jobs on the Norwegian mainland and 150 jobs at offshore installations in the Norwegian continental shelf. Those affected on the mainland work at facilities in Bergen, Trondheim, Harstad and Stavanger. As previously reported by ERM in January and June, Statoil has already cut 1,200 jobs in 2014 and announced additional cuts of 1,100-1,400 positions before 2016. The restructuring is part of a broader effort to cut costs, adjusting the size of the workforce to fit the current and future level of activity and investment.
Unions have been consulted in the process, and Statoil's management stated that they have provided valuable input. The dominant union in the sector, Industri Energi, did however not back the decision and expressed its disappointment. They have also voiced growing concerns about safety on offshore installations as maintenance costs are cut.
Update, 13.04.2015: The 150 offshore jobs have been officially confirmed cut in the near future. This part of the restructuring will be completed without dismissals, through early retirement and contracts ending. For the 350 jobs on the mainland, a final decision has yet to be made. There is a larger effort ongoing to evaluate all technical personel on land, in total 12.000 employees, many of them engineers. Statoil is downsizing further, and is set to cut as much as 20 percent in the technical field. This means that as many as 2.400 employees may be made redundant, in addition to the 1950 job reductions already announced over the past year.
Per Steinar Stamnes, leader of the Industri Energi union in Statoil, is content that this round of restructuring will not involve compulsory dismissals, but is concerned that the next round of job cuts could be premature and too large. The company will need more employees in 2016, and losing key technical competence and experience could be a future safety risk, he warns.
About 10.000 jobs have been cut in the Norwegian petroleum sector over the past year. Statoil’s restructuring contributes to these cuts, as its supplier companies are also heavily affected. Statistics Norway has estimated that as many as 30.000 jobs directly related to petroleum investment activity may be cut before 2018. A major factor is the low price of oil on international markets.
Sources
10 October 2014: Aftenposten
3 October 2014: Dagens Næringsliv
22 November 2014: Stavanger Aftenblad
10 October 2014: NRK
Citation
Eurofound (2014), Statoil, Internal restructuring in Norway, factsheet number 77661, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/77661.
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