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"We have looked closely at how we are organized and we feel that, in many places,** we have too many layers in the company."**
That was how the CEO of oil and gas giant Royal Dutch Shell, Ben van Beurden, framed plans to ** cut 10 percent of the company's workforce** , in an internal interview published on Shell's website.
He revealed 9,000 jobs are set to go as part of a major overhaul to shift Shell to producing low-carbon energy. As well as the transition, Shell said the reorganization will lead to additional annual savings of around $2 billion to $2.5 billion by 2022 , going partly beyond cuts of $3 billion to $4 billion announced earlier this year.
Job cuts are part of a trend among big energy companies. Earlier this year, Shell's rival, BP announced plans to cut around 10,000 jobs , also stating it was part of plans to expand its renewables business.
The job losses are in part due to the renewables sector having relatively low margins compared with mark fossil fuels, as well as the havoc the COVID-19 outbreak has caused the industry.
The ongoing financial fallout from the pandemic underpins much of the business news, outlined in the day's top headlines below.
Despite this, there is positive news in Germany as Europe's biggest economy continues its impressive recovery . While we also have an interview with Emily Penn, who has transferred her campaigning against ocean plastics online to circumvent the social restrictions brought on by COVID-19.
Happy reading,
Daniel Harries
Digital correspondent
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British bank TSB has announced it will close 164 branches, a third of its remaining total, and cut around 900 jobs as it presses on with cost-cutting measures amid the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
South Africa's state-owned airline has suspended all its operations as it struggles to raise the more than $591 million it needs to stay afloat.
The former head of Volkswagen's Audi luxury car division and three others went on trial facing charges related to the company cheating diesel car emissions tests.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has welcomed China's plan to be carbon-neutral by 2060 , contrasting it with the U.S. failure to abide by the goals of the landmark 2015 Paris climate accord.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency will detain shipments of palm oil and its byproducts from FGV Holdings Berhad in Malaysia, after a wide range of labor abuse indicators were allegedly found, including physical and sexual violence and forced child labor.
**Peter Thiel's data-mining outfit Palantir Technologies is going public **in the biggest Wall Street tech offering since last year's debut of Slack and Uber.
Singapore's central bank directed embattled German payments firm Wirecard to cease providing services in the city state and return all customers' funds.
Norway and the UK have reached a ** bilateral agreement on fisheries** , ahead of the UK's exit from the European Union's single market at the end of the year.
British supermarket group Morrisons is creating more than **1,000 jobs for people **to pick and pack orders for its services on Amazon.
**CLICK: **
SCIENTISTS LAUNCH 'EMERGENCY' PROGRAM TO RESTORE UNDERSEA MEADOWS
WATCH:** German winemakers are raising their glasses to a new deal between China and the European Union. Rheinhessen wine is the latest of the 100 regional products to be given protection under the Geographical Indication standard that identifies a product of which the quality, reputation or similar characteristics are related to its geographical origin.**
03:03
Head of the Love Your Ocean campaign, Emily Penn, spoke to CGTN Europe about setting up the SHiFT Platform, a digital network that enables users to collaborate, selecting how and where they can make a tangible difference to helping rid the world's oceans of plastics.
You started an 'online expedition,' so to speak, called SHiFT, what do you hope to achieve with this?
We are currently land-bound and because of the coronavirus crisis, we are unable to carry on with our sailing. So we've moved our impact-making virtually. And we've built this platform. It's all about helping people solve this plastics issue, because we realize that we all have an opportunity to do something. We all have a different unique skill set. And it's a case of working out what role we can play in tackling the problem. And this website helps you navigate that process and to find the solution that's most appropriate for you.
You've got 300 envoys – ambassadors against plastic – but what do you hope to achieve really with SHiFT? And what kind of pick-up have you had from people so far?
It's been amazing so far. I think there are so many people out there who want to do something. They get that there's a problem in the ocean of plastic and they say, 'ok, well, I want to help, but I don't really know where to start.' And so what we found is that if you can help people navigate that process, you have much better action and uptake in the end. And also that there's not one solution, there are hundreds. And that's the good news. You just need to be able to be working on your own piece. And so by having these 300 ambassadors, they will come from all over the world and from all different backgrounds and sectors. And by all working on that piece together, we can really solve the problem.
Amid news that German retail sales rose much more than expected in August, data from the Federal Statistical Office of Germany shows how employment figures in Europe's largest economy have recovered from lows recorded in June. Despite this, the number of people employed is still markedly below the pre-crisis level.
Source(s): Reuters ,AP
