KAJANG — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said most of the employees affected by Petronas’s planned job cuts are contract workers.
“Many (of them) are contract (staff),” he told reporters briefly after performing Friday prayers at Surau Al-Ikhwan here.
Anwar was responding to Petronas’s recent announcement that it would reduce its workforce by about 10% as part of a company-wide restructuring exercise aimed at cutting costs amid falling crude oil prices.
The national oil company plans to lay off more than 5,000 employees, with those affected expected to be notified by the end of the year.
The figure was confirmed by Petronas president and chief executive officer Tan Sri Tengku Muhammad Taufik Tengku Aziz during a media briefing in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
In addition to the retrenchments, Petronas will suspend promotions and new hires until December 2026.
The move follows Tengku Muhammad Taufik’s earlier indication in February that workforce reductions were part of the company’s long-term sustainability strategy.
Separately, Anwar said he would issue a statement on the recent border clash between Thailand and Cambodia after speaking with Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra.
Earlier today, Thailand’s military said it was prepared to launch a “high-level operation” in response to any threats to its sovereignty, following the latest escalation in a long-running territorial dispute with Cambodia.
The renewed tensions flared on May 28, resulting in the death of a Cambodian soldier. — June 6, 2025