UK multinational oil and gas giant Shell is cutting hundreds of contractors from its workforce amid a major efficiency drive by the oil giant's new CEO as he targets bigger shareholder returns, reports The Standard. Scores of contracts have either been cut ahead of their assignment completion or are not being renewed. The bulk of the contractors who face the axe sit in the firm's IT wing, of which permanent staff represent a minority of the workforce in a number of teams.

According to company insiders, contractors have also been barred from several work social events, however permanent staff are still invited. Shell CEO Wael Sawan has vowed to aggressively target profitability and bigger dividends for shareholders since stepping into the role at the start of the year. In June of this year, Sawan outlined his plans for a $40 billion package of investment into oil and gas production as well as a reduction in operating costs of up to $3 billion by 2025 as part of a ‘ruthless focus on performance, discipline and simplification’.

In a statement Shell said, “Contractors continue to provide important IT skills to Shell as valued people in our teams. It is usual for the numbers of contractors to go up and down in line with business need. In 2023, we have needed fewer contractors overall to support IT functions at Shell. A small proportion of these reductions have been in the UK.”