The British oil giant told employees in a memo Thursday that it would slash around 4,700 jobs this year. The company also said it was cutting 3,000 contractor roles and that 2,600 of those contractors had already departed.

Confirming the job losses, the FTSE 100 company said the reduction in its workforce was down to cost cutting measures.

British oil major BP on Thursday said it is planning to cut thousands of jobs as part of a major cost-cutting drive.