Shell sheds 10,000 jobs with oil at a 10-year low

Oil and gas giant Shell plans to cut some 10 thousand jobs, CEO Ben van Beurden announced on Wednesday, along with the company's fourth quarter figures. The company is struggling under the low oil prices and cutbacks implemented in 2015 are not enough to compensate for plummeting profits. Oil prices are currently at the lowest point they've been in 10 years. According to the Independent, the prices fell 70 percent in less than two years. Over all of 2015 Shell made a net profit of 10.7 billion dollars, compared to 22.5 billion dollars in 2014. "The completion of the BG transaction, which we are expecting in a matter of weeks, marks the start of a new chapter in Shell, refuvenating the company, and improving shareholder returns", Van Beurden said in his statement accompanying the quarterly figures, adding that they are making "substantial changes" in the company. "This will include a reduction of some 10,000 staff and direct contractor positions in 2015-16 across both companies."