Oil shock: Royal Dutch Shell to cut 7,000 to 9,000 jobs

Royal Dutch Shell has said it plans to cut 7,000 to 9,000 jobs.

Shell employs 83,000 people worldwide, including 6,000 in the UK. It has been hit by a substantial drop in profits since the pandemic struck.

The oil giant said the cuts would be implemented by 2022 and included 1,500 people who were taking voluntary redundancy.

The move comes five months after it cut its dividend for the first time since World War Two.

Shell CEO Ben van Beurden said the job cuts were “the right thing to do for the future of the company” as it strives to become a net-zero emissions energy business.