Wintershall and DEA announce plans to cut 1,000 full-time jobs

German oil and gas companies Wintershall and DEA have announced plans to axe around 1,000 full-time jobs following the completion of their planned merger.

In a joint announcement, the companies stated that 800 jobs will be cut in Germany. The remaining 200 positions affected under the plan will be in Norway, mainly related to the completion of ongoing large development projects.

Following the redundancies, the combined entity, known as Wintershall DEA, will have 3,200 employees worldwide.

More than 400 of the job cuts planned in Germany will be within the corporate functions in Hamburg and Kassel.

Additional staff reductions are expected to take place at the merged entity’s production sites in Germany.

The redundancies are subject to consultation with the co-determination bodies.

Wintershall and DEA began the consultation processes for the job cuts in Germany in January 2019, while talks have been ongoing in Norway since November 2018.

Meanwhile, the merger is anticipated to deliver synergies of at least €200m per annum from production increases and cost reductions.

Pro-forma 2017, the German firms’ joint average daily production stood at 575,000 barrels of oil equivalent.

Wintershall DEA aims to increase production by 40% to 800,000 barrels between 2021 and 2023.

The entity will focus on the two companies’ existing portfolio and new production regions such as Mexico and Abu Dhabi to increase output.

Furthermore, the joint release stated that the merger is on track for completion during the first half of 2019.

The parent companies of Wintershall and DEA signed a definitive agreement for the transaction in September 2018.