Malaysia’s Petronas will cease to exist ‘in 10 years’ without slashing jobs, CEO says

The state-owned energy giant has nearly 50,000 employees. Its president and CEO did not say how many jobs might be affected

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Published: 9:59am, 10 Feb 2025

Malaysia’s state energy firm Petronas will reduce its workforce to ensure its long-term survival amid increasing challenges in the global operating environment, its CEO has said.

“The rationale to do this is to ensure the survival of Petronas in the coming decades,” said Tengku Muhammad Taufik Tengku Aziz, the company’s president and chief executive officer, according to local media reports on Friday.

“If we don’t do it now, there will be no Petronas in 10 years,” he was cited as saying by outlet The Edge, without elaborating on how many jobs might be affected.

State news agency Bernama carried a similar story from what it said was an editors’ briefing, quoting the CEO as saying the move was to ensure Petronas can “continuously contribute to nation-building”. Petronas has nearly 50,000 employees, according to its website. Petronas confirmed the media reports in an email response, and said the number of affected employees was not mentioned during the briefing.

An offshore drilling platform is seen off the coast of Sarawak, Malaysia. Photo: Shutterstock

Muhammad Taufik said the “right-sizing” exercise was not a result of a deal between Petronas and the Sarawak state government on local gas distribution.