BP To Eliminate 4,000 Jobs Due To Slumping Oil Prices

According to a report by Reuters, BP plc (ADR) (NYSE: BP) is planning on eliminated thousands of jobs in 2016.

Shares of BP were trading lower by 1.66 percent at $28.36 heading into the final hour of trading on Tuesday.

According to Reuters, BP plans on lowering its global oil production headcount by 4,000 to 20,000 as part of a $3.5 billion restructuring initiative. The reduction in headcount amounts to around 5 percent of the company's total global workforce.

"We want to simplify (our) structure and reduce costs without compromising safety," a company spokesman told Reuters. Globally, we expect the headcount in upstream to be below 20,000 by the end of the year."

BP also said that it plans on reduce its headcount by 600 people in the North Sea over the next two years, with most cuts to be announced in 2016.