Shell To Axe 250 North Sea Jobs

Shell is to cut 250 jobs in its North Sea operations and introduce changes to shift patterns, the company has announced.

The oil giant said the plans will affect staff and agency contractors and were part of a range of initiatives to manage costs and improve the competitive performance of its operations around the world.

Staff and agency contractors based in Aberdeen and on installations in the North Sea were told of the plans during a meeting today.

"The North Sea has been a challenging operating environment for some time.

Reforms to the fiscal regime announced in the Budget are a step in the right direction, but the industry must redouble its efforts to tackle costs and improve profitability if the North Sea is to continue to attract investment,'' Paul Goodfellow, Shell's upstream vice president for the UK and Ireland, said.

"Current market conditions make it even more important that we ensure ourbusiness is competitive. Changes are vital if it is to be sustainable. They will be implemented without compromising our commitment to the safety of our people and the integrity of our assets.''

The cuts are in addition to 250 job losses announced last August.