Petrobras to Cut 12,000 Jobs by 2020

Brazilian oil company Petrobras has announced it will cut 12,000 jobs by 2020.

The voluntary layoff program will help save $9 billion at the company, which has struggled with losses following a price-fixing and bribery scandal.

It has also been hit by the global slump in the price of oil.

Petrobras, which has reported losses for the last two financial years, is expected to spend $1.23 billion on implementing the job cuts plan.

The semi-public company has long been one of the biggest employers in Brazil, with more than 80,000 employees.

However, Petrobras has seen its business hit by the huge falls in oil prices globally and one of the biggest corruption scandals in the country’s history, which has gone to the heart of the country’s government.

Petrobras’ announcement that 12,000 jobs are to be cut over the next five years is part of a investment plan to turn around the company’s fortunes.

The oil producer reported its biggest quarterly loss to date in Q4 of 2015 – $10.2 billion – after losses at its oil fields and refinery projects.

The corruption scandal involving price-fixing, bribery and political kickbacks over the last two years has dented confidence in the business. Some former Petrobras executives have been jailed.

The scandal has also harmed the reputation of Brazil’sPresident Dilma Rousseff, who was on the board of the company at the time of the offences.

Dilma Rousseff is facing the possibility of impeachment on unrelated charges of false accounting.