Oil giant BP will lay off about 4,700 employees, more than 5% of its workforce, as part of a cost-cutting plan.

The British company, which employs about 90,000 people worldwide, confirmed the job cuts on Thursday but did not say how many jobs would be affected in each country where it operates.

An email to employees also confirmed that about 3,000 contractor positions will also be cut this year.

BP has around 14,000 employees in the UK, around 6,000 of whom work at petrol stations and filling stations and will not be affected by the job cuts.

Chief executive Murray Auchincloss announced last year his intention to simplify the business and is understood to have set a target of cutting $2bn (£1.6bn) in costs by the end of 2026, including $500m in savings this year.

“We have more work to do this year, next year and beyond, but we are making progress as we position BP as a simpler, more focused, higher-value company,” he said in an email to staff. Huge progress.”

The boss added that he recognized the “uncertainty this creates for everyone whose work may be at risk and the impact it has on colleagues and teams”.

The layoffs come as the energy giant seeks to bring more digital capabilities into the business, with artificial intelligence playing an increasingly important role in engineering and marketing operations.

Mr. Auchincloss’ email said about 2,600 of the contractors affected by the layoffs have left the company.