Shell to cut more jobs after record $7.4bn loss

Shell’s plan to drill in the Arctic had met fierce resistance but it had overcome most of the regulatory hurdles
Shell’s plan to drill in the Arctic had met fierce resistance but it had overcome most of the regulatory hurdles
DANIELLA BECCARIA/AP

Royal Dutch Shell slashed its oil price forecast and prepared for a prolonged industry recession as it unveiled a $7.4 billion quarterly loss, the biggest in the company’s history.

Europe’s largest oil company, which is struggling to cope with a halving of international crude prices since June 2014, said that it would cut a further 1,000 jobs, taking total losses this year to 7,500, or 8 per cent of its 94,000-strong workforce.

Shell cited a “downward revision of the long-term oil and gas price outlook”, adding that it was scrapping a forecast of between $70 to $100 per barrel it uses for screening internal projects in favour of a lower range, thought to be about $60 per barrel.

Shell, which until recently had been relatively