Shell To Close BG HQ by End-2016

Royal Dutch Shell has detailed how it plans to make UK job cuts, as a result of its previously announced plan to axe 10,300 posts worldwide: 7,500 under a general reduction and 2,800 specifically resulting from its February 2016 takeover of BG Group.

Three UK offices, which act as bases for 1,800 staff and contractors, are to close.

Eight hundred staff currently work at the BG headquarters office at Thames Valley Park in Reading, 300 work at BG’s Aberdeen office, and 700 staff and contractors are associated with Shell’s Manchester office – although not all will be job losses.

Shell-appointed ‘Transition CEO’ of BG Huibert Vigeveno said on April 25: “One of the review's recommendations was to consolidate all Shell's London and South East based operations into Central London. Our intention is therefore to close the Thames Valley Park campus by the end of this year.” 

"The review also recommended that all Aberdeen-based onshore operations move to the Shell Aberdeen Tullos office, with BG's offices [in Aberdeen] at Albyn Place closing by the end of this year, and the closure of Shell's Brabazon House office in Manchester by the end of 2017.”

Vigeveno said Shell plans to open a voluntary redundancy arrangement at Thames Valley Park. From April 25 he said Shell would also open up access to all Shell current internal vacancies for all BG employees to have equal access to all the available opportunities in Shell. It has also told its staff of a proposal to offer a selective voluntary severance (SVS) programme for some UK employees.

Mark Smedley