Shahril Hamdan: Petronas job cuts reflect global O&G challenges
KUALA LUMPUR: Petroliam Nasional Bhd's (Petronas) move to potentially reduce its headcount by more than 5,000 is aligned with the broader challenges of the oil and gas sector, said former economic advisor to the Prime Minister's Office Shahril Hamdan.
In an episode of his podcast 'Keluar Sekejap', Shahril said that, in data from 2015, Petronas generated around RM6 million in revenue per employee and compared that to other national oil companies (NOCs).
"Petrobras, roughly 2 to 3 million US dollars per employee. Pertamina, more or less like us—1.5 to 2 million.
Shahril, who is also ex-Umno information chief, said that Petronas, and the public, cannot deny that adjustments must be made to remain competitive.
He highlighted the vastly different oil and gas landscape of today compared to the 1990s, when the cost structure was different and the technical difficulty of exploration was lower.
He added that with easy-to-access oil and gas fields already tapped, companies around the world today are operating under new constraints.
"In the United States, for instance, it's the clearest example, where even though many barrels of oil are produced, employment in this sector has decreased," Shahril said.
Last Thursday (June 5), Petronas president and group chief executive officer Tengku Tan Sri Muhammad Taufik said the company expects to reduce its head count by "upwards of 5,000" as it right-sizes its workforce amid an evolving and increasingly challenging operating environment.
Taufik added that all those affected will be informed by the end of the year. The national oil company will also freeze recruitments until December 2026.
Petronas, which has some 52,000 employees globally, first announced in February this year that it was set to begin rightsizing its workforce by mid-2025.
It would implement the new structure in phases and ensure the process is carried out in a structured manner.
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