Equinor ASA's renewable energy division will lay off 20% of its workforce.
1min read Norwegian state oil company Equinor (EQNR.US) said on Thursday it would cut 20% of its workforce in the renewable energy division and would compete for a smaller number of new projects as part of its business streamlining process. The move is expected to affect about 250 employees.
Many companies and industry insiders said the global offshore wind industry has suffered setbacks in meeting ambitious goals amid the impact of cost inflation, high interest rates and supply bottlenecks. Equinor is a major player in the industry. Earlier this year, Equinor abandoned offshore wind projects in Vietnam, Spain, Portugal and France and cut its offshore wind plans in Australia.
Equinor's move is similar to those taken by its European rivals Shell (SHEL.US) and BP (BP.US) in recent months, which have both scaled back operations in renewable and low-carbon businesses and focused on the most profitable parts of their businesses.
Moreover, a spokesperson for Equinor said the company will reduce its participation in tenders and auctions in the future, while focusing on the construction of three large offshore wind projects - Dogger Bank in the UK, Empire Wind 1 in the US and Baltyk 2, 3 in Poland.
However, Equinor has not changed its target of having 12-16 gigawatts of renewable energy installed by 2030. Any potential changes to the target will be part of the annual capital markets update to be released in February next year.