Pertamina to cut 13,000 jobs

Pertamina to cut 13,000 jobs

JAKARTA (JP): The state oil company Pertamina plans to reduce the number of its employees by 13,000 within the next five years under a restructuring program to improve efficiency.

Pertamina's director for general affairs, Baharudin, said yesterday that the company, therefore, will not hire any new employees. "We actually have not accepted any new employees at our headquarters in Jakarta since last May," he said.

He said the company has offered its employees an "early retirement" package which guarantees special compensations and bonuses for those who voluntarily retire before reaching retirement age.

Baharudin said that the early retirement package has attracted some 4,000 employees.

He said Pertamina's current 44,000 employees are too many, noting that the ideal number of employees for Pertamina would be some 20,000 people.

He said Pertamina will continue reducing the number of its employees until it reaches the ideal number. (rid)