BP is cutting 4,700 jobs from its global workforce, about 5% of its headcount, as well as 3,000 contractor positions as it meets shareholders’ demands for cuts to its costs.

The company employs 90,000 around the world, including 2,000 in Scotland, and has not said where the cuts will fall.

Chief executive Murray Auchincloss promised to reduce the company’s costs by at least $2bn (£1.6bn) by the end of 2026, of which $500m is to be saved this year.

He said he understood and recognised the “uncertainty this brings for everyone whose job may be at risk” and also “the effect it can have on colleagues and teams”.

He said: “We began a multiyear programme to simplify and focus BP last year – strengthening our competitiveness and building in resilience as we lower our costs, drive performance improvement and play to our distinctive capabilities.

“We have got more we need to do through this year, next year and beyond, but we are making strong progress as we position BP to grow as a simpler, more focused, higher-value company.”

Mr Auchincloss said BP was focusing its resources on “our highest-value opportunities”, adding that it had stopped or paused 30 projects since June 2024.

In 2023, the firm came under fire for scaling back its plans to reduce the amount of oil and gas it produces by 2030.

Mr Auchincloss had intended to present his plans to investors in New York early next month but it has been delayed until 26 February and switched to London to allow him to recover from a “planned medical procedure”.

In a trading update, B P warned that oil production for the last quarter would be lower than in the previous threee months, while the profit margins from its refining business would be “weaker” and its oil trading performance would be “weak”.

Liberal Democrat MSP Liam McArthur said: “This will be very tough news for all of those jobs are under threat. We need urgent clarity about how many of the affected jobs will be in Scotland.

“If jobs in Scotland are at risk then Scottish Government will need to work with BP, trade unions and workers to preserve expertise and skills and help people transition to new roles.

“There are major questions over Scotland’s energy security. We must ensure that talented people are not thrown onto the scrap heap as a result of poorly thought-out government policies or changing market conditions.”