
Malaysia's Petronas to cut 10% of workforce, not exiting Canada, CEO says
KUALA LUMPUR, June 5 (Reuters) - Malaysian state energy firm Petroliam Nasional, or Petronas, will retrench about 10% of its workforce in a restructuring exercise, its chief executive said on Thursday.
Tengku Muhammad Taufik also denied at a media briefing that the state firm was exiting its business in Canada.
Local media has previously reported Petronas as saying it needed to "rightsize" its workforce to ensure the company's survival in the coming decades.
Petronas has nearly 50,000 employees, according to its website.
Bloomberg had reported earlier on Tuesday that Petronas is considering a sale of its Canadian company, formerly known as Progress Energy Resources Corp.
"Canada is crucial to our ambitions to preserve our position in the liquefied natural gas space," Tengku Taufik said.
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The Guardian
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Albanese must tread a fine line when he meets Trump. He can't bow to him but he can't alienate the US either
Things were tense as John Gorton prepared to meet Lyndon Johnson at the White House in May 1968. In office just a few months, the Australian prime minister had criticised the US president for a lack of consultation over America's military plans for the Vietnam war in the lead up to the important visit. In a briefing note uncovered by the historian James Curran, Gorton was described to his hosts as having a crumpled nose 'like an ex-prize fighter'. Worse, Washington was warned that the Australian leader was a 'conclusion jumper' and lacked experience in foreign affairs. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email Despite meetings at the White House and a visit to the famed LBJ ranch in Texas, Gorton left America feeling uneasy about his relationship with Johnson and how the trip would play to the domestic audience at home. Anthony Albanese could be forgiven for a similar feeling. 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The British prime minister, Keir Starmer, a friend of Albanese, performed similarly well back in February, taking an invitation from King Charles III for a state visit to the UK and eventually securing a tariff exemption through agreement on framework for a new trade deal. The visit is expected to take place in Scotland, the country of Trump's mother's birth and where he is planning to open a luxury golf course. The stakes are high for Albanese. Tariffs aside, the US is Australia's key defence and security partner and the personal relationship with the president is usually a key test of Australian prime ministers on the world stage. While Trump is disliked by many Australian voters – 64% of respondents to the Lowy Institute's annual poll in April said they didn't have faith in him to act responsibly – Albanese needs Trump to stick to the Aukus nuclear submarines agreement and to pushback on China's expansionist approach to the Indo-Pacific region. 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