Petrobras fires almost 12,000 employees

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The largest Brazilian state-owned oil company Petrobras made over 11,700 employees sign up to get fired through the firm’s voluntary dismissal program, states a new report by Bloomberg.

The company’s management plans to reduce debt and operational costs by $10 billion in the nearest years thanks to the program as the world oil prices remain low.

"The company is giving up a work force of 20,000 in only two, three years. You would need more than a decade to restore this kind of knowledge," Jose Maria Rangel, from the oil workers’ federation, told Bloomberg in an interview.

By signing up for the voluntary dismissal program, Petrobras employees become eligible for severance benefits. According to an official statement published on Friday, paying out the benefits for the 12,000 workers the company plans to fire will cost $1.23 billion.

A new Brazil’s president Michel Temer has recently called for liberal policies to make industry costs lower and increase competition between rival firms.