Gbenga Adedayo
Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) has concluded plans to lay off 3,000 of its employees as part of plans to completely divest from its onshore operations fuelled mainly by security and community concerns.
The disengagement of workers which is expected to be implemented by May 2018, is being executed under its Voluntary Exit Programme where employees are offered juicy window to voluntarily retire, failing which, will risk redundancy.
A source who did not want his identity known, disclosed to MediaIssues that fears have gripped the entire workforce who now whisper in hush tones about the matter.
According to an employee, Shell is focusing on deep offshore operations, and that only employees of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO) which pioneered Nigeria’s, deep-water oil at the Bonga field currently producing about 160,000 barrels of crude oil per day, are assured of jobs.
Fears being expressed by employees centre around the fact that Shell’s divestment drive of relinquishing onshore blocks has only brought hardship as investors refused to absorb all employees of Shell working at the affected onshore blocks. The workers cited Seplat, NPDC, Heritage and Neconde as examples of investors who bought Shell’s onshore oil blocks and refused to absorb all the former employees of Shell working at the onshore block.