Some 10,000 employees of Brazil’s Petrobras, or 22% of its workforce, have accepted voluntary buyouts, Chief Executive Roberto Castello Branco said on Wednesday, as the state-run oil company intensifies its quest to slim down and refocus on core businesses.
In a webinar hosted by Brazilian newspaper Valor Economico, Castello Branco said the deadline for employees to sign up for the program was Tuesday. Some have already left, while most will leave the company later this year or in 2021.
“We have approximately 10,000 people signed up, which means 22% of Petrobras’ employees are going to leave the company,” he said. “Two thousand left over the course of the year. The rest will leave by December, and a smaller part will leave in 2021.”
Aided by a massive divestment program which will see employees in many units working for new owners, Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PETR4.SA), as the company is formally known, should have about 30,000 employees long-term, versus over 45,000 today, he said.
Source: Reuters
