British Petroleum Will Cut 1,150 Jobs

British Petroleum Co. said Monday that it was cutting 1,150 jobs, or nearly half the staff, at its London headquarters as part of a reorganization designed to lower costs and make the oil giant more flexible.

About 900 people will be laid off and the rest will be transferred, said a spokesman, who was not identified in accordance with British practice.

The cuts, mainly affecting staff running administrative, computing and information services, represent a 46% reduction in the 2,500 staff currently employed at the company’s headquarters. BP employs 118,000 people worldwide.

The job cuts are part of BP’s “Project 1990” to reduce the organization’s complexity and cut expenses, BP said.

BP Chairman Robert Horton said: “As we enter the 1990s we expect the pace of change in global business to quicken. . . . Corporations that achieve the greatest success will be those that are prepared and able to respond rapidly, flexibly and imaginatively.”

The company said it is simplifying management by removing layers of managers, replacing departments with flexible teams, reducing the number of boards and committees and contracting out certain services.

The announcement follows a reduction of 1,700 jobs, or 17%, in BP’s exploration and production activities worldwide in 1989.