Royal Dutch Shell will increase the number of job cuts in 2015 and 2016 by around 20pc to at least 12,500 as a result of low oil prices and the integration of BG Group, it said on Wednesday.
The Anglo-Dutch company will reduce the size of its UK and Ireland oil and gas production, or upstream unit, by 475 throughout 2016, it said in a statement.
Shell started offering employees in Britain and the Netherlands voluntary redundancy last month.
News of the increased staff cuts comes amid growing investor discontent around its top executives pay packages.
Investor discontent with Royal Dutch Shell over multi-million euro pay packages for its top executives rose sharply at this year’s annual shareholder meeting on Tuesday.
Although Shell’s shareholders approved the oil and gas group’s remuneration report, including chief executive Ben van Beurden’s €5.14m package, 14.17pc of investors opposed it, up from 3.84pc last year.
Royal London Asset Management, which holds Shell shares worth nearly £1bn (€1.3bn), said it was “disappointed” that van Beurden received very close to the maximum possible bonus in a year when the firm’s overall financial performance was weak.
A slump in oil prices meant Shell reported its lowest annual income in more than a decade in 2015.
More top British corporations are facing shareholder revolts over the way executives are paid, including medical equipment firm Smith & Nephew and miner Anglo American.
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