BP set to cut jobs in Asia: source

By Ikuko Kao

LONDON (Reuters) - BP is set to cut jobs in Asia, an industry source said on Wednesday, as the oil giant braces for weak third quarter results.

"It is likely to be announced in a next week or two," said the source, based in Asia and familiar with BP operations. "That is related to the things reported by media."

The source did not know if oil traders would be affected or in which parts of Asia the axe might fall.

In September, the Financial Times reported that BP's Chief Executive Tony Hayward had told staff that the oil giant's performance in the third-quarter was "dreadful" and that he planned a shake-up to improve operations.

A BP spokesman in London said Hayward was looking at "the complexity of business," but declined to comment on any possible Asian job losses.

BP in Asia handles most of its crude and oil product trading business from Singapore, Japan and Australia. It is also involved with upstream oil and gas production operations in many part of Southeast Asia and Oceania.

Several years ago, French major Total TOTF.AP streamlined its operations in Asia, closing its crude oil trading business in Tokyo.

Even before the possible job cuts in Asia, BP has lost several dozen oil traders globally in recent years.