The electric vehicle market is slower than expected, BP lays off employees in electric vehicle charging department

[New Sancai Compilation First Edition] BP has laid off more than a tenth of its staff at its electric vehicle charging business and will lay off more than a tenth of its staff as bets on rapid growth of its commercial electric vehicle fleet have not paid off, sources said. It has withdrawn from several markets.

The changes at BP Pulse come as Chief Executive Murray Auchincloss grapples with investor doubts about his plans to shift away from oil and gas and toward low-carbon energy, focusing on the most profitable areas. shows part of its efforts.

BP told Reuters that in recent months, BP Pulse has reduced the number of countries it operates from 12 to four, and is currently focusing on the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and China, where the electric vehicle market is expected to grow fastest.

As a result, the division has cut more than 100 jobs, or more than 10% of its 900-strong global workforce, in recent months, with many employees being transferred to other divisions and only a few leaving the company, sources said.

BP did not comment on the exact number of job cuts.

The move comes as carmakers around the world are tightening their belts as the adoption of electric vehicles is slower than expected. Technology publication Electrek reported on Monday that U.S. electric vehicle pioneer Tesla will lay off more than 10% of its workforce.

However, electric vehicle charging remains one of BP's key growth engines. BP said in its annual report that it had more than 29,000 charging stations globally by the end of 2023, compared with 22,000 in the same period last year. The goal is to reach 100,000 by 2030.

"Our electric vehicle ambitions remain unchanged," BP said. The changes to BP Pulse are "a step to ensure we can execute our goals with greater precision and efficiency."

BP Pulse has also abandoned a number of bets it had made since launching its energy transition strategy in 2020 under former group chief executive Bernard Looney.

Othincloss told analysts in February that BP initially expected commercial vehicle fleets to be the first and fastest to switch to electric vehicles on a large scale, but that did not happen, in part because the government had relaxed rules on switching to electric vehicles.

"We thought the teams would be the first to move. But given the pressure of the recession and some relief from the government, the teams have slowed down," Auchincloss said.

BP also shut down its home electric vehicle charging business in May 2023. The company is now mainly focusing on fast charging centers.

The company said it expects returns on its electric vehicle charging and convenience store businesses to exceed 15% by 2025 and generate $1.5 billion in advance profits, taxes, depreciation and amortization.

(Compiled by: Wang Jimin)

(Editor: Jiang Qiming)

(Source of the article: Compiled and published by New Sancai)