Pertamina to cut employees

YOGYAKARTA (JP): State-owned oil and gas company, Pertamina, will gradually, in the next five years, reduce the number of its employees to reach an ideal number of around 17,000, an official said.

Wawan Irawan, head of Pertamina's Human Resources Development Division said in Yogyakarta on Wednesday that offering an early pension scheme would be the best way to reduce the number of employees.

"Dismissals or layoffs will be the last option. In this way we expect to have a total 17,800 employees in 2005," Wawan said.

He said the company now had some 25,000 employees, or 8,000 more than the ideal figure.

He cited the refinery unit IV in Cilacap, which refines a total of 348,000 barrel of crude oil per day, now has 2,500 employees. "In other countries, a 1,000 employees will do," he said without elaboration. (45/sur)