BG Group to Slash Jobs in Britain and Australia: Paper

Oil and gas producer BG Group Plc (BG.L) is cutting nearly 300 jobs in Britain and making significant cuts in Australia, weeks after warning that turmoil in Egypt would hit output this year and in 2015, the Times newspaper reported on Thursday.

BG will cut about a quarter of the staff at its head office in Reading, England, the paper said on its website, without citing sources. (link.reuters.com/jyr77v)

It added that BG would make significant reductions to its 1,000 employees in Australia, where it is building a series of liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects.

The company has been holding talks with staff over the past few days outlining the redundancy package on offer, the Times said.

BG, which employs 5,500 people in 20 countries, could not be reached for comment outside of regular business hours.

Over the past 18 months, BG has cut its output forecasts four times, including scaling back output expectations for 2014 and 2015 due to its woes in Egypt, which accounts for about one-fifth of BG’s production.

BG also warned in January that U.S. output would fall by about 25 percent in 2014 as prices for gas there made it uneconomic to produce as much from its shale resources.

Source: Reuters