Maersk Drilling to Cut Up to 70 Jobs
The drilling division of Danish corporate giant Maersk said today it would lay off about 70 employees due to “reduced activity in the oil industry”.
The organisation stated that nine of it’s 23 rigs were not currently in use as Exploration and Development continued to be curtailed by low crude oil prices.
Maersk highlighted that the cuts are expected to affect it’s Copenhagen Headquarter organisation and that of the 70 jobs being shed, “approximately 20 are expected to be vacancies that will not be filled”.
However, the company added: “Headquarter functions situated in other locations than Copenhagen might also be affected”.
The company has a significant amount of staff employed in offices in Aberdeen.
Claus Hemmingsen, chief executive of Maersk Drilling, said: “The combination of low activity levels and excess capacity of drilling rigs continues to drive lower utilisation and lower day rates.
“At present, nine out of Maersk Drilling’s 23 units are lying idle, and we expect the market balance to be challenged in the coming years.
“As a consequence, we have had to say goodbye to more than 600 offshore employees in the last 12 months.
“To date, Maersk Drilling have managed to reduce cost by more than 15%.
“However, the adverse market conditions continue to heavily affect us, and an onshore staff reduction is an unfortunate but necessary step to safeguard the future of our company.”
