Posts circulated on Facebook claim that oil and gas giant Royal Dutch Shell will reduce 9,000 jobs due to the Biden administration. Linking the move to Biden is misleading: the company announced plans to cut up to 9,000 jobs in September 2020 as part of efforts to move to low-carbon energy and simplify the company’s structure, and the locations of the dismissal is not specified. by a spokesman for Shell, which operates in more than 70 countries.
One message that has been shared more than 826 times here reads: “Shell oil firing 9000 workers thanks Biden”. Other posts can be seen here and here.
Curtis Smith, a Shell spokeswoman, told Reuters in an email: “The allegation that Shell is eliminating posts due to moves made by the Biden administration is inaccurate.” He said the announcement was made in September 2020 when Donald Trump was still president.
“Shell has announced that up to 9,000 jobs will be eliminated as part of a broader effort to reduce costs, simplify the company’s structure and accelerate investment in low – carbon products,” he added.
At the time, Reuters reported on the relocation of the oil giant here. Shell said it was expected to reduce 7,000-9,000 jobs by 2022, including about 1,500 people who agreed to lay off voluntarily in 2020.
In an interview published here on Shell’s website on September 30, CEO Ben van Beurden referred to the restructuring by saying: ‘We have looked closely at how we are organized and we feel that in many places we are too many layers in the company. ”
As reported here by Reuters, in April 2020, Shell set out the comprehensive strategy so far to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050.
According to their website www.shell.com/about-us.html, the energy company has more than 80,000 employees in more than 70 countries.
Upon inquiry, Shell did not indicate where the said redundancies would take place.
Reuters reported in November 2020 that the company was closing its refinery in Convent, Louisiana, the largest such U.S. plant and for the first time on the U.S. Gulf Coast closed since the coronavirus pandemic devastated global demand (here).
The refinery is the ninth in North America to be targeted for standstill or laziness since the onset of the pandemic, which has weighed heavily on fuel demand worldwide. The United States is the largest fuel consumer in the world.
In January 2021, Reuters reported that U.S. refineries were reflecting a painful fourth-quarter earnings, reflecting the pressure of rising crude prices, weak demand due to renewed COVID-19 travel restrictions, and higher costs associated with the mixing of renewable fuels. in their products (here).
VERDICT
Untrue. Shell’s plans to cut up to 9,000 jobs were announced before the 2020 US election and when Biden took office.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our work to actually check social media posts.