Cristina Verchere, CEO of OMV Petrom, the largest oil and gas producer in Romania and the region, confirms the figures regarding the restructuring of the company’s personnel. She specifies that the job cuts have already begun.
Profit.ro announced in September that OMV Petrom will lay off approximately 1,000 employees following a restructuring decision made by its main shareholder, the Austrian group OMV.
At that time, OMV Petrom stated that it does not comment on the figures regarding the restructuring of the company's personnel, but assured that any layoff measures will be decided in accordance with the law and after consulting with the unions.
Now, the CEO of OMV Petrom confirms the data regarding the restructuring of the company's personnel, as reported by Profit.ro.
"Regarding the workforce reduction, we assure you that we are analyzing the cost-related challenges. We are analyzing the transition to an environment with lower oil prices. And as mentioned, we have programs to increase cost efficiency, which also include analyzing the workforce size.
We have already made some reductions. We estimate a reduction of approximately 1,000 positions, of which we are already halfway there, with the majority being carried out this year, but some will be completed in 2026 and 2027. Yes, we continue to do this and are working on many measures, already in the process of implementation," the CEO conveyed to investors.
The total target for savings is approximately 150 million euros, to be achieved by 2027 compared to 2024. This includes personnel, services, simplification, and automation.
The hydrocarbon sector is undergoing a comprehensive global restructuring process, with the Financial Times announcing in the fall that ConocoPhillips also intends to reduce its workforce by a quarter by the end of next year, due to fears that an increase in production by the OPEC cartel will cause a sharp drop in prices.
This comes after the giant BP announced last month that it will reduce its workforce by at least 15%, currently at 40,000 employees. Chevron also presented a plan in February to reduce its workforce by a fifth.
The restructuring decided by OMV is a more modest one, with 2,000 out of 23,000 employees (8.7%) expected to leave the group, as reported by the Austrian press. 400 of these will come from the elimination of positions in Austria, where the company has 5,400 employees. The percentage in Austria (7.4%) is lower than that for the entire group.
As Romania employs 44% (10,158 people) of the group's employees, it is likely that the number of layoffs will be around 1,000 people.
OMV Petrom has increased its number of employees by 25% (over 2,000 additional employees) in the past year, mainly due to the internalization of certain operations and maintenance activities in the exploration and production division, reaching 10,158 employees in the middle of this year, up from 8,098 employees in the middle of last year. The Romanian company will decide who will leave the group.