BP, the global energy conglomerate headquartered in the U.S. in Houston, has announced an expansion of its workforce reduction, planning to cut 6,200 office jobs—an increase from the 4,700 layoffs revealed seven months prior. This 32% rise highlights a significant restructuring as the company refocuses on traditional oil and gas production, stepping back from its previous investments in renewable energy. With approximately 4,000 employees based in Houston, the largest concentration in BP’s international operations, there are growing concerns about the potential impact in the city, although specifics on local job losses remain undisclosed.
In addition to these layoffs, BP is also reducing its contractor workforce, having already released 3,200 contractors since January, with plans to cut an additional 1,200 by year-end. These moves are part of BP’s “reset” strategy, launched at the beginning of the year, which aims to reduce costs by $2 billion by 2026. This strategic pivot underscores a return to traditional oil and gas operations, deviating from BP’s earlier green energy initiatives.
During BP’s second-quarter earnings call, CFO Kate Thomson confirmed the expected job impacts, specifying that the majority of the 40,000 office-based workforce reductions will occur in the fourth quarter. BP has reported $1.7 billion in cost savings in 2025 so far, attributing $400 million to reduced corporate overhead, driven by “performance culture” shifts within the organization. The company’s long-term objective is to achieve up to $5 billion in structural cost savings by 2027.
The restructuring also affects BP’s convenience store operations, including brands like TravelCenters of America, ampm, and Thorntons, although the specific impacts remain unquantified. In an ongoing commitment to traditional oil exploration, BP has announced the potential discovery of a substantial oil and gas reserve in Brazil’s Santos Basin, indicating its continued investment in large-scale oil projects despite scaling back on renewable ventures.