Harbour Energy plc plans to cut 250 jobs at Aberdeen, equivalent to a quarter, because of a fall in investment in the oil and gas industry as a result of the government policies.
CHALLENGES
In a statement today managing director of the company’s UK business Scott Barr said: “Harbour is launching a review of its UK operations, which we expect to result in a reduction of around 250 onshore roles in our Aberdeen-based business unit.
“The review is unfortunately necessary to align staffing levels with lower levels of investment, due mainly to the Government’s ongoing punitive fiscal position and a challenging regulatory environment.
“We must take these difficult steps in response to the challenges presented by the current external environment.”
The job cuts follow the 350 job losses announced in 2023.
Harbour is the UK’s largest oil and gas producer but swung to a loss of £93 million in 2024 from the previous year’s net profit of £45m.
The company blamed the Energy Profits Levy which in October 2024 increased from 35% to 38%, making the headline tax 78%.