Monday June 22nd, 2009 / 17h48
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Posts under ‘Linda Cook’
UPDATE: Leaked Shell E-mail Shows 62 Senior Executive Appointments
Surprise departure as Shell set for revamp
Royaldutchshellplc.com, an independent website used by Shell staff, said yesterday that more than 30 per cent of senior managers were expected to go.
Click to continue reading “Surprise departure as Shell set for revamp”
File of outspoken articles about Royal Dutch Shell 2004 – 2009
File of outspoken articles about Royal Dutch Shell published by this website since 2004.
Click to continue reading “File of outspoken articles about Royal Dutch Shell 2004 – 2009″
We have a precise number of the Shell SEG getting the boot: a “HUGE” number
By John Donovan
On Tuesday we published the article below. It was subsequently used as the source of multiple news reports around the world, including the lead front page article of the Financial Times newspaper published the following morning, Wednesday 27 May.
Later that same day, an article published by ROMANDIE NEWS quoted a Shell spokesman as denigrating the veracity of the information in our article, describing it as “pure speculation.”
Shell then rushed forward the release of incoming CEO Peter Voser’s reorganisation plans which confirmed our information was in fact accurate. We published a leaked email from Voser hours after he sent it to Shell employees announcing his plans. Fortunately, a number of news organisations had already published because they had confidence based on past performance, that our Shell insider sources are reliable.
The Times apparently liked our line “Funeral in Berlin“
We now have a precise figure for members of Shell’s senior executive group who are being shunted out in the mass culling. In the context of the overall number of SEG members, the figure has been described by one insider source as “HUGE”. We have other related information. Members of the news media seeking details can contact me via john@shellnews.net
Cook’s sudden departure just the start of dramatic changes at Shell
The following information has been assembled from multiple Shell insider sources.
Funeral in Berlin: Tomorrow a two day meeting commences in Berlin involving the Shell top 100.
A formal farewell to the departing Chief Executive Jeroen van der Veer will take place during the first day of the meeting.
The second day has been set aside for his replacement, Peter Voser, to announce his plans said to include:
1. A major cull of senior managers/executives. More than 30% will go, rewarded with golden handshakes.
2. A merger of Shell EP and Shell Gas & Power, hence the sudden departure of Linda Cook (who according to insider sources was ruthlessly pushed into leaving). The merged business will be run on a centrally organised basis. Regional offices will be closed.
Related articles:
Royal Dutch Shell Fat Cat Malcolm Brinded: Big Brain but no scruples
Job should go – but so should the rest of Shell’s motley crew
Shell Ethics Chief claims he is subject of ‘provocative hateful’ campaign
SHELL TO SLASH COSTS WITH GIANT JOBS CULL
SHELL TO SLASH COSTS WITH GIANT JOBS CULL
Thursday May 28,2009
By Andrew Johnson
Royal Dutch Shell unveiled one of the most radical restructurings in its 119-year history yesterday in a move placing thousands of jobs at risk.
Incoming chief executive Peter Voser is aiming to slash costs, cut project overruns and speed up decision making through the overhaul announced yesterday following the departure of gas and power chief Linda Cook.
While the company disappointed the City by setting no targets for how much money will be saved, analysts said the annual figure would be in the high “£100millions, if not low £1billions in the next two years or so”.
The company said up to 24,000 jobs will be affected by the changes, which see three upstream (or production) arms merged into two, which will then be refocused geographically.
The groups’s refining and marketing businesses will also be rationalised. There will be a completely new division, called projects and technology, which will design and manage all new projects, as well as research and development. Headquarter operations will also be restructured.
There has been speculation that up to 30 per cent of senior management could go in the cull.
In an e-mail to staff, Voser said: “Organisationally, we are too complex and our culture is still too consensus-oriented. Our costs are simply still too high.” He added: “The industry, and Shell, faces considerable challenges and high costs, volatile energy prices and competition for new projects.”
The biggest aspect of the restructuring is the merger of the gas and power and oil sands divisions with exploration and production. This will become two divisions, one focused on the Americas and the other on the rest of the world.
Up to 22,000 people will be affected from this move, while the remaining 2,000 mostly affected will be based in the centralised corporate affairs divisions. The bulk of the cuts are expected to fall outside the UK.
Investors deplored the lack of concrete targets and the shares dipped 15p to 1648p. ING oil analyst Jason Kenny said Shell was a late mover in terms of cutting costs compared to rivals such as Exxon and BP.
Shell is under fire from investors, who voted down the group’s pay report last week for giving executives bonuses after they had missed targets.
New Shell chief ready to slash and burn
Shell will also set up a new division to handle project delivery and technology. It will be led by Matthias Bichsel, who is also Swiss. Some Shell employees complained on their website Royaldutchshellplc.com that a “Swiss Mafia” is running the group.
Click to continue reading “New Shell chief ready to slash and burn”
Scots Shell employees face wait over jobs decision
The group has 102,000 people worldwide, and a spokeswoman said yesterday the new organisation would have a smaller workforce.
Click to continue reading “Scots Shell employees face wait over jobs decision”
Royal Dutch Shell restructuring to affect 24,000 jobs
Royal Dutch Shell has unveiled the most the radical restructuring of its operations for decades in a move that will impact over 24,000 jobs.
Click to continue reading “Royal Dutch Shell restructuring to affect 24,000 jobs”
Massive shake-up at Shell puts 24,000 jobs at risk
Up to a third of senior management under threat
Thursday, 28 May 2009
Hot on the heels of the surprise resignation of top executive Linda Cook, Shell’s in-coming chief executive Peter Voser announced major restructuring plans yesterday that could cut thousands of rank-and-file jobs.
Some 24,000 staff at the Anglo-Dutch oil giant will be affected by the changes, with job losses expected to be in the thousands. Up to a third of senior management are believed to be under threat.
There are three major structural changes. The company’s three upstream businesses – exploration and production (EP), gas and power (GP) and oil sands – will be combined into two, new regional units: Upstream Americas and Upstream International. Mr Voser is also creating an entirely new “Projects & Technology” division which will manage everything from R&D to project delivery to contracting and procurement. Finally, some parts of Shell corporate are to be absorbed into specific business units, while the rest is streamlined under a single combined human resources (HR) corporate director role.
The measures are intended to simplify the structure of the company, speed up implementation and cut costs. Mr Voser – who takes over from out-going chief executive Jeroen van der Veer at the start of July – said: “This new structure will increase accountability in the company, and improve Shell’s performance on delivering new projects and developing new technologies. These changes will increase our focus, accelerate our plans to reduce complexity, corporate overheads and costs, and result in faster decision-making and delivery.”
At the top level, the changes mean a significant re-balancing of Shell’s eight-strong executive committee. The company says the new structure allows greater representation from business units and less for internal functions.
The new regime appears to confirm rumours that the resignation of Ms Cook, who was head of the gas and power group, stemmed from differences with Mr Voser. With Ms Cook gone, there is space for the head of the new Projects & Technology unit, Matthias Bichsel, currently at Shell’s EP technology division. He will be joined by Marvin Odum – now executive vice-president of Americas EP business – as the new director of the Upstream Americas business. Malcolm Brinded, the executive director of EP, will take on the Upstream International job.
The changes at Shell HQ will claim the scalp of Ms Cook’s only other female colleague on the executive committee. Under the new structure, the committee will have only three members from Shell headquarters – from finance, legal, and the newly combined human resources and corporate director – as opposed to four. The HR and corporate role will go to the current HR director Hugh Mitchell, while Roxanne Decyk, current head of corporate affairs, will stand down from the committee to take a role leading a new government relations department in Washington, DC.
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