Australian energy company Woodside has announced a plan to cut over 500 jobs globally as part of a restructuring program aimed at achieving annual savings of $400 million by 2028.
Details of the Workforce Reduction
The workforce reduction will amount to more than 10 percent of the company's employees by the end of 2025 and is part of broader efforts to optimize operations, reduce external costs, and restructure the oil and gas portfolio.
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Woodside's CEO, Liz Westcott, introduced these measures on the company's investor day in Sydney. The new savings target is $50 million more than the previous target of $350 million and will be measured against the company's cost base in 2025.
Impact on Operations and Countries
Woodside expects the job cuts to occur gradually, but specific details on which operations or countries will be affected have not been disclosed. According to the latest annual workforce statistics, the company employed a total of 4,693 people at the end of 2025, of which 3,717 are based in Australia.
In addition to reducing staff numbers, Woodside plans to streamline internal processes, improve supply chain management, and expand the use of digital technologies and artificial intelligence. This restructuring follows changes in the portfolio, including carbon capture and storage projects Calypso, Sunrise, and Bonaparte.
Westcott stated that the company is focusing on more profitable assets and is striving to improve operational efficiency and financial discipline. These measures come as Woodside is preparing to bring several major projects online.
The Scarborough LNG project off the west coast of Australia is 99 percent complete, and the first LNG shipment is expected to be loaded before the end of 2026. The Trion oil development off the coast of Mexico is set for initial production in 2028, and the Louisiana LNG project is scheduled for 2029.
Woodside expects these projects to drive sales growth of over 30 percent to around 280 million barrels of oil equivalent by 2032. Additionally, the company has introduced a new dividend policy aimed at distributing 20 to 40 percent of adjusted operating cash flow through dividends and potential stock buybacks.
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