Type
Internal restructuring
Country
Norway
Region
Location of affected unit(s)
offshore
Sector
Mining / Quarrying
Mining And Quarrying
Mining Support Service Activities
09.10 - Support activities for petroleum and natural gas extraction

130 - 140 jobs
Number of planned job losses
Job loss
Announcement Date
21 July 2016
Employment effect (start)
1 August 2016
Foreseen end date
1 January 2016

Description

Offshore drilling company Maersk Drilling is to cut at least 130 jobs in Norway, as two drilling rigs will be off contract by the end of the year.

The fall in crude oil prices and subsequent reduced activity in the North Sea has resulted in a difficult contract situation for the company, which has undergone previous rounds of restructuring in the last year - first in the fall of 2015 (Maersk Drilling Norge 2015 NO), before an additional 70 employees were made redundant when the company failed to get a new contract for drilling rig Maersk Reacher in March 2016.    

The contract for Mærsk Gallant expires this fall, while Maersk Inspirer is concluding its contract with Statoil at the end of the year. The cuts were first made public by trade union MAF, which cites company documents saying that the restructuring process will be accomplished in two rounds; first, when Maersk Gallant's contract expires in quarter 3, and secondly when Maersk Inspirer ends its work in quarter 4. The cuts will not affect all current employees on these rigs, as some will be transferred to a new rig (XLE4) between October and February 2017. CEO Jakob Korsgaard confirms that 130-140 jobs offshore will be cut, and that the cuts will be made from August until the end of the year. The union has been engaged in formal dialogue with the company over the past few weeks. Union representatives state that another round of restructuring highly regrettable.


Sources

  • 20 July 2016: MAF
  • 20 July 2016: Petro
  • 21 July 2016: E24
  • 21 July 2016: Sysla

Citation

Eurofound (2016), Maersk Drilling Norge, Internal restructuring in Norway, factsheet number 88202, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/88202.