23 September 2014, News Wires – Aker Solutions is set to slash another 175 staff as a reduction in platform maintenance and modification work off Norway has hit its order book, according to a report.
The postponement of the Zidane gas project, targeted as a tieback to the Heidrun platform in the Norwegian Sea, by operator RWE Dea was reported by local publication Stavanger Aftenblad to be the main reason for the latest job cuts at Aker.
It will reportedly take the total tally of manpower reductions at the Norwegian engineering contractor to 575 this year as cutbacks in spending by Statoil and other operators have taken a toll on its workload.
A company spokeswoman was quoted as saying that M&M staff working in Stavanger had been informed of the workforce “challenges” at a meeting on Monday.
Retrenched workers will reportedly be transferred to internal recruitment firm Aker Advantage with a view to finding them alternative positions either within or outside the company.
The spokeswoman underlined there remained strong demand for the company’s services in other parts of the world – particularly in the deep-water and subsea segments – as well as for M&M work in Canada and the UK.
Another company official said about 100 staff would be transferred from the M&M to subsea divisions in the course of the winter.
Meanwhile, Coast Center Base near Bergen, which carries out rig maintenance work, is set to lay off more than 100 of its 240 employees after Statoil decided to move its offshore logistics base to Mongstad, local publication Vetnytt reported.
Another oilfield services contractor working in Norway, Beerenburg, is also reported to be looking to reduce its workforce by 150 due to the market downturn.
Furthermore, Seadrill-owned rig contractor North Atlantic Drilling Ltd is reportedly likely to lay off more than 250 workers in Norway as some of its rigs move out of the country amid drilling cutbacks by the likes of Statoil, a union spokesman was quoted as saying by Stavanger Aftenblad.
– Upstream
