Australian energy giant Woodside to cut over 500 jobs

SYDNEY, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- Australian oil and gas giant Woodside Energy on Thursday said it will cut over 500 jobs from its global workforce under a new target to cut costs.

This picture taken on September 3, 2025 shows the logo of Australian energy company Woodside Energy Group Ltd, commonly known as Woodside, on its headquarters in Perth, Western Australia. (File photo: AFP)

Woodside said in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) that it is targeting 400 million U.S. dollars of annual structural cost reductions from 2028.

It said that the reduction would be delivered by optimizing its portfolio and supply chains and by cutting more than 500 jobs from its global workforce.

Woodside's 2025 annual report said that it had 4,693 employees globally as of Dec. 31, 2025.

The company, which is the largest energy company listed on the ASX by market capitalization, previously said in August that it was targeting an annual cost reduction of 350 million U.S. dollars from 2028.

"Our priority now is to extract more value from our portfolio," CEO and Managing Director Liz Westcott said on Thursday.

She said that sales volume is expected to grow by more than 30 percent to approximately 280 million barrels of oil equivalent in 2032, generating more than 40 billion U.S. dollars of adjusted operating cash flow from 2027 to 2032.

The company also announced on Thursday that it will overhaul its dividend policy to distribute 20 to 40 percent of its adjusted operating cash flows to shareholders. It will prioritize 20 percent of adjusted operating cash flow as a base dividend, with up to another 20 percent available for additional dividends, share buybacks, or both.

Woodside is also targeting a portfolio return on average capital employed of 12-15 percent by the mid-2030s.

Woodside Energy's share price was down 6.2 percent in the first hour of trading on the ASX on Thursday.