Shell says it is cutting 2,800 jobs in a pre-planned administrative move as plunging oil prices find a floor. The oil giant says in a release Monday that the job cuts, amounting to 3% of its workforce, come as the company finalizes its takeover of British-based BG Group. The job reductions are in addition to 7,500 job cuts previously announced.
Meanwhile, oil sold on U.S. markets is about a quarter below $35 a barrel, up 0.1%. In recent days the prices for oil in the U.S. and for Brent crude, from the North Sea, have hit six- and seven-year lows, respectively.
Plunging prices come after OPEC abandoned production limits and as worries build about an oversupply of oil. “Gloom nourishes gloom,” Eugen Weinberg of Commerzbank AG told Bloomberg. Another energy component, natural gas, is taking a hit Monday, falling more than 5% to $1.879 per million Btu. Forecasts for mild weather as winter approaches are helping drive prices down.