Business · Woodside job cutsWoodside job cuts: At least 500 positions to go worldwideWritten November 5, 2026 at 11:41 AM UTCWatchTranscript0:07Woodside plans to cut at least five hundred jobs worldwide.0:11That's roughly one position in ten at a company whose workforce is concentrated in0:16Australia.0:17The immediate question is how much of that reduction will fall on Western Australian0:21workers.0:22Woodside announced the reductions on November5 and at its Capital Markets Day in0:26Sydney.0:27At least five hundred positions are slated to go.0:30The company had four thousand six hundred and ninety-three employees in December20250:36.0:36A historical snapshot before this roughly ten percent reduction was announced.500 is0:41the minimum Woodside has set out, leaving room for a larger eventual reduction.0:46The announcement puts employees on notice of a restructuring, with the company0:51seeking a smaller workforce while pursuing growth across its energy business.0:56About eighty percent of Woodside's workforce is based in Australia, and the vast1:01majority of those employees work in Western Australia.1:04Its Australian operations producing liquefied natural gas.1:08Or LNG are principally centered off the state's coast.1:12The cuts follow other employment losses in the state's resources sector.1:16Hancock Iron Ore confirmed job cuts at Roy Hill in June, without disclosing the1:21total.1:22In October, BHP announced plans to cut up to300 jobs across its Pilbara iron1:28ore operations.1:29Woodside's announcement adds another large proposed reduction to that picture.1:33Woodside is targeting annual structural savings of four hundred million US dollars1:39from2028 .1:41A separate published figure puts savings at five hundred and fifty million dollars,1:45but its currency isn't clear.1:47The relationship between those amounts is also unclear, so they can't safely be1:52treated as competing targets.1:54The savings program includes changes to Woodside's portfolio and supply chain1:58alongside staff reductions.2:00Westcott has already overseen sales of the company's Trinidad and Tobago gas fields2:05and its stake in Greater Sunrise.2:07Woodside is also looking to sell a clean ammonia project.2:11Together, those changes form part of a wider effort to improve returns.2:15Woodside wants to lift production by thirty-two percent to two hundred and eighty2:20million barrels of oil, equivalent by two hundred and thirty-two.2:25That measure combines oil and gas.2:27Chief Executive Liz Westcott said, Our priority now is to extract more value from2:32our portfolio.2:33Westcott said Scarborough was ninety-nine percent complete and weeks from its first2:38LNG cargo.2:39The project sits about three hundred and seventy-five kilometers off the Pilbara2:43coast.2:44Woodside also identifies Browse off the Kimberley Coast as a growth option.2:49Approval to extend Northwest Shelf operations until twenty seventy helps open a path2:55to developing that resource.2:56Woodside's old dividend ceiling was eighty percent of underlying net profit.3:01Its replacement uses twenty to forty percent of adjusted operating cash flow.3:06That includes a twenty percent base.3:08With another twenty available for extra dividends or buybacks, share buybacks return3:13money to investors by purchasing company shares.3:17Investors who rely on dividend income could receive less under the new approach, but3:22the two policies measure different things.3:25A lower percentage of cash flow doesn't translate directly into the same percentage3:29reduction in a dividend because profit and cash flow can differ.3:33Woodside is targeting investment returns of twelve to fifteen percent across3:38projects by the middle of the next decade.3:40Previously, its thresholds exceeded fifteen percent for offshore oil, twelve percent3:46for gas, and ten percent for new energy.3:49Woodside's expansion plan includes Trion Oil in the Gulf of Mexico and Louisiana3:54LNG, due online by twenty twenty-nine.3:57Louisiana's planned capacity is sixteen point five million tons a year.4:02Last week, Woodside signed a twenty-year agreement to supply Qatar Energy.4:07With up to three million tons annually from2030 .4:11Woodside also wants to sell down its stake in Louisiana LNG.4:15WA treasurer Rita Safiotti said she was very disappointed, but would keep backing4:20gas.4:21WA Green spookesperson Sophie McNeill called Woodside a company in decline.4:27Resources analyst Peter Strachan rejected that description, pointing to high oil4:32prices linked to the Iran War.4:34McNeil said Woodside shouldn't be allowed to drill at Scott Reef as part of Browse.4:39Safiotti said gas was integral to the state's energy supply, and her government4:43would continue to bat for gas.4:45She linked support for resources projects with the desire for strong employment.4:50Woodside hasn't disclosed how many Australian positions will go, which roles will be4:55affected, or when the reductions will take effect.4:58The2028 date is when recurring savings are expected to begin.5:03Workers still need a local allocation and an implementation plan to know whose jobs5:08are at risk and what options they'll have.Read the articleStory timelineHeyDex
