1,000 Welsh jobs at risk as BP sheds staff

BRITISH PETROLEUM, the oil giant, is cutting 800 jobs in Germany as part of a worldwide redundancy programme.

The news comes as concern grows that the group's big chemicals plant in Baglan Bay in Wales is also facing cuts that could involve 1,000 job losses.

The German job losses, announced yesterday, involve its oil refining and marketing operations and have been prompted by weak trading conditions.

Earlier this month the company said it was planning to cut its total workforce by 11,500 to improve efficiency across its oil and chemicals divisions.

However, speculation is mounting that the axe is about to fall on its Baglan Bay site, which manufactures bulk chemicals. The unit has already seen considerable redundancies in the past week, but it is thought that BP may be planning to cut Baglan's output in response to industry overcapacity.

The company has already stated that it is planning to withdraw from some chemicals markets where it is not a main player. Last week, BP announced the sale of its low density polythene business, part of BP Chemicals, to Neste, the Finnish group, for an undisclosed sum.