BP cuts 620 jobs from solar business (out of 2,200 worldwide)

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://uk.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUKTRE5305YT20090401

BP cuts 620 jobs from solar business

Wed Apr 1, 2009 5:42pm BST

LONDON (Reuters) - BP on Wednesday said it would cut 620 jobs from its solar power business and that two plants in Spain and part of a plant in the U.S. would be shut as it looks to reduce costs at its renewable energy division.

BP said two assembly plants near Madrid, Spain, would be shut with the loss of 480 jobs, while the module assembly section of its Frederick facility in Maryland, U.S. would also close down with a further 140 redundancies.

"The job cuts reflect the cost of operating solar manufacturing in the more industrialised nations," a BP spokesman said.

BP, whose Solar business employs 2,200 people worldwide, did not give a timescale for the closures.

…

[Deja Q]

1. Ugh

:(

[Call me Deacon Blues]

2. Typical

So much for "Beyond Petroleum", eh?

[Deja Q]

3. I thought "B" = "British". When did they change it to "Beyond"?

[OKIsItJustMe]

4. You, know… it makes me wonder…

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003688550_webbpceo01.html

Originally published May 1, 2007 at 12:00 AM | Page modified May 1, 2007 at 4:16 PM

BP CEO resigns after judge clears way for reporting on his private life

Bp chief Executive John Browne resigned today, hours after a judge lifted a legal injunction preventing a newspaper from publishing details...

By D'Arcy Doran
The Associated Press

LONDON — BP Chief Executive John Browne resigned today, hours after a judge lifted a legal injunction preventing a newspaper from publishing details of his private life and allegations that he misused company resources.

…

Browne, 59, had been fighting since January to keep the Mail on Sunday newspaper from publishing details from an interview with a man with whom he had a relationship. BP said the newspaper had also sought to report allegations that Browne misused company resources — claims it said an internal investigation determined were unfounded.

…

Browne first joined the company in 1966 as an apprentice and worked his way up, taking the top job in 1995. He oversaw BP's expansion into the United States, involving a number of takeovers, including the 1998 merger with Amoco and the subsequent acquisitions of Arco and Castrol.

But his attempts to fashion BP as an environmentally friendly oil company — he was the first major oil company CEO to acknowledge global warming and masterminded BP's logo change from a shield to a flowerlike sunburst design the slogan "Beyond Petroleum" — were undermined by the company's recent U.S. troubles.

…