Shell Office Closures To Affect 1,600 Staff

Shell is to close three UK offices in a move affecting 1,600 staff.

The company is extending a voluntary redundancy programme following a review of its enlarged operations since the £35bn takeover of BG Group.

Shell said the sites to be shut down were BG's headquarters in Berkshire and company offices in Aberdeen and Manchester.

It added that the 1,600 staff employed at the sites, who did not wish to relocate, would be offered voluntary redundancy under Shell's previously announced plan to cut 10,300 jobs in the wake of the merger - with 2,800 of those workers coming from BG.

Shell said the decisions were not only a result of tackling duplication in the enlarged business but also the low oil price environment which has forced rivals to also slash jobs and investment amid plunging profits.

The company's head of transition, Huibert Vigeveno, told staff in a speech at the Reading site earlier: "One of the review’s recommendations was to consolidate all Shell’s London and South East based operations into central London.

"Our intention is therefore to close the Thames Valley Park campus by the end of this year.

"The review also recommended that all Aberdeen-based onshore operations move to the Shell Aberdeen Tullos office, with BG’s offices at Albyn Place closing by the end of this year, and the closure of Shell's Brabazon House office in Manchester by the end of 2017. 

"We are also planning to open a voluntary redundancy arrangement at Thames Valley Park. At the same time, from today, we will also open up access to all Shell current internal vacancies for all BG employees to have equal access to all the available opportunities in Shell."