BP Plans 700 Global Office Job Cuts as CEO Refocuses on Oil and Gas

BP's 700-Office-Role Reduction: The Plan and Its Reach

BP plans to cut about 700 office positions globally, a reduction that touches roughly 8% of the 8,500 roles at the British energy group not directly involved in operational activity. Reuters first reported the plan; while a BP spokesperson confirmed that job reductions are being proposed, the company declined to confirm the specific number.

In a message to staff, BP said affected employees could see their roles disappear in the new organizational structure, change significantly, or be moved to another part of the business. The reduction is part of a broader push under chief executive Meg O'Neill to simplify operations, cut debt, improve profitability and refocus on the oil and gas business after scaling back investments in renewable energy.

O'Neill, who took over in April, has already reshaped BP's structure from three segments to two — upstream and downstream — with the new setup in force since the start of July. BP's 2025 annual report shows the company employed 93,700 people and operated in 61 countries at the end of that period.

The open question is how the plan hits specific countries, including Poland, where BP directly employs about 5,000 people and supports a similar number indirectly. The group runs more than 570 fuel stations with around-the-clock shops across the country, keeps its main Polish office in Kraków, has a Warsaw office responsible for the Castrol brand, and says its staff are present in every Polish region. No country-level breakdown of the planned cuts has been confirmed.

Inside Meg O'Neill's Two-Segment Reorganisation

The Logic Behind a Two-Segment BP

The cuts are the workforce side of O'Neill's simplification agenda. Since April, BP has collapsed three business units into two — upstream and downstream — eliminating a layer of management and reporting in between. A corporate and back-office structure built for three segments tends to carry roles that become redundant under two, which is why office positions, rather than operational crews, are in the crosshairs. Verified: the two-segment structure took effect in early July. Interpretation: the 700-role reduction is the natural follow-through of that reorganisation.

Why Office Staff — Not the Forecourts

The 700 planned cuts equal about 8% of BP's 8,500 non-operational roles, a meaningful thinning of the corporate layer. By contrast, the 93,700-strong workforce is mostly operational — refinery staff, engineers and the people running fuel stations such as BP's 570-plus network in Poland. Retail and field staff are largely shielded, because stations and plants cannot run without them. The burden of the cost-saving programme therefore falls on back-office, management and support functions.

What Poland Should Expect

Poland is one of BP's larger European footprints: roughly 5,000 direct employees, a similar number working indirectly, and offices in Kraków and Warsaw. Because the global cuts target office-based roles, Polish corporate functions are in principle exposed — but nothing has been confirmed for any specific market. If Polish roles are affected, local labour rules on collective redundancies, consultation and severance will shape how the process unfolds. This is an expectation based on the structure of the plan, not a confirmed fact.

The Strategy Behind the Savings

The redundancies should be read alongside BP's capital shift: lower renewables investment, a renewed commitment to oil and gas, and explicit goals to reduce debt and lift returns. Job cuts are the cost side of that strategy — a leaner corporate centre funds the refocus on upstream and downstream. The eventual market verdict will depend on whether the savings show up in BP's numbers without disrupting operations. Verified: BP scaled back renewables spending and is refocusing on oil and gas. Interpretation: the job cuts are the labour-cost component of that pivot.

What BP Staff in Poland Should Watch For

• BP office employees in Poland should identify which part of the new two-segment structure their role reports into — upstream or downstream — because that determines how the list of affected roles is built. BP's own staff message says positions may be eliminated, materially changed or relocated, and each outcome carries different consequences.
• If Polish redundancies cross the thresholds in Poland's collective-redundancy law, BP would be obliged to consult employee representatives and pay statutory severance — a point worth verifying early with HR or a union rather than waiting for individual letters.
• For investors, the key checkpoints are BP's upcoming earnings releases, where the company must show that cost savings and debt reduction are actually materialising, and any further headcount guidance following the July reorganisation.