At a time when performance is under pressure, BP p.l.c. Sponsored ADR (BP.US) plans to lay off thousands of employees to reduce costs.

BP p.l.c. Sponsored ADR CEO Murray Auchincloss told employees on Thursday that the company will be cutting 4700 permanent and 3000 contract positions in order to reduce costs. Auchincloss wrote in an email to BP p.l.c. Sponsored ADR employees, "I understand and recognize that this brings uncertainty to everyone who may face job risks and will also impact colleagues and teams." Previously, BP p.l.c. Sponsored ADR had anticipated pressure on Q4 performance. BP p.l.c. Sponsored ADR stated on Tuesday that fourth-quarter performance will be impacted by declines in oil and gas production, refining profits, and trading. In a trading update, BP p.l.c. Sponsored ADR stated that fourth-quarter upstream production is expected to be lower than the reported 2.4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in the third quarter. BP p.l.c. Sponsored ADR also mentioned that the average price of Brent crude oil this quarter was $74.73 per barrel, lower than the $80.34 per barrel in the third quarter, and the refining market average profit margin decreased to $13.10 per barrel, down almost $3.5 per barrel compared to the previous quarter. The company also stated that the decrease in refining profit margins and the impact of turnaround and maintenance activities will result in a profit decrease of up to $3 billion compared to the previous quarter, and profits from oil production and operations will further decrease by $2 to $4 billion.