Petrobras, Brazil’s scandal-plagued state oil firm, is planning to scythe 15% of its staff through voluntary layoffs, according to Reuters which cites Brazilian newspaper o Estado de S.Paulo.
The job-cuts plan is to be officially announced in mid year. The cuts follow previous revelations that Petrobras will slash its investment budget by 20%.
These drastic pruning measures come as Petrobras, the world’s most indebted oil company, is trying desperately to cut costs.
It has been buffeted financially by the plunging oil price and the reverberations of the massive bribes-for-inflated-contracts graft scheme that has blackened its name.
A 15% layoff programme would entail the loss of around 12,000 staff.
