Shell cuts 200 jobs, contracting the hydrogen division
Oil and gas giant Shell has continued its retreat from renewables as it is set to cut 200 low-carbon jobs and review another 130.
Next year 200 roles are to be slashed in the low carbon solution and hydrogen divisions, while a further 130 positions are under review in an effort to reduce headcount and to grow profits, Shell said.
Cuts to the low carbon solution division equate to 15% of the roughly 1,300 staff in the department.
Carbon capture storage and nature-based solutions also form the department but will be unaffected, and renewable power will also not be hit.
The light hydrogen mobility unit that worked on hydrogen solutions for cars will see the most cuts: two of four general manager roles in the hydrogen section will be merged, Shell said. Work to move support hydrogen-fuelled heavy goods vehicles will continue.
Some roles will be integrated into other parts of the company which has more than 90,000 employees, Shell added.
Shell had already closed its hydrogen car refuelling points in the UK as consumers chose electric cars. It comes despite the company committing to build Europe’s largest renewable hydrogen plant in the Netherlands.
The cuts come as the new Shell chief executive Wael Sawan seeks to boost profits and gas production while keeping oil output steady. Focus on high-margin projects (such as oil when prices are high) is part of his plan.
Shell’s target of cutting oil production each year for the rest of the decade was dropped in June of this year after cutting production by about 20% from a 2019 peak.
Also shelved were any renewable-electricity capacity targets. Instead, it aims to invest more than six times as much on fossil fuels as it will on clean power.
In 2022, Shell spent 17% (£3.5bn) of its total capital expenditure (£20bn) on “low-carbon energy solutions”, which included renewable power, electric vehicle charging and biofuels.
Company profits have fallen after hitting an all-time annual high of £32.2bn for 2022. Latest filings showed a big fall in second-quarter profit from $11.5bn (£9.46bn) the year before to just over $5bn (£3.9bn) as energy prices plunged from the Russia-Ukraine invasion peak.
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Mr Sawan took the helm in January after his predecessor Ben van Buerden stepped down, having been in the post for eight years.
“We remain committed to investing in viable low carbon business models and focusing on our strengths as we play our part in decarbonisation of the global energy system,” Shell told Sky News.
“This will include ensuring ongoing reliable delivery of energy and decarbonisation products, services, and solutions to our customers.”
The fossil fuel company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and headquartered in the UK capital.
Financial results for the third quarter of 2023 will be published on Thursday next week.
A police officer who was driving a van that followed two teenagers shortly before they died in an e-bike crash will not be prosecuted.
The deaths of Harvey Evans, 15, and Kyrees Sullivan, 16, sparked riots in the Ely area of Cardiff in May 2023.
The officer was facing a dangerous driving allegation but prosecutors decided there was not enough evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction.
A Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) statement said: “We fully understand that this will be disappointing news for the families of both boys and will offer a meeting with them to explain our reasoning further.”
Rumours on social media that the teenagers were being pursued by police were initially denied.
South Wales Police said none of its vehicles were in Snowden Road at the time of the crash.
But police watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) later confirmed it was investigating after video appeared to show them being followed by a van – without blue lights or a siren – minutes before the incident.
Other footage, however, showed the van turn off and it wasn’t following the boys at the time of the collision.
A key factor under consideration was whether there was any point at which the actions of the officers in the van “constituted a pursuit”.
CCTV showed a police van following the bike moments before it crashed
Read more:
Timeline of events before fatal Cardiff crash
The driver and passenger of the marked police van were previously issued with gross misconduct notices.
A second investigation was also opened by the IOPC into issues including police management of the crash scene and treatment of the families.
Riots broke out in the Ely area after the boys’ death. Pic: PA
Pic: PA
A riot of several hours broke out after the boys’ deaths, with cars set alight and fireworks and other missiles thrown at police.
Eleven officers needed hospital treatment and 31 people were eventually charged.
The decision not to charge the police officer driving the van can be challenged under the victims’ right of review scheme.
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