BP's number of employees 2011-2019

BP employed some 70,100 people as of December 31, 2019. BP’s number of employees has dropped considerably since 2012, when the company had 86,400 employees.

BP: a global employer

Of BP’s three segments, the Downstream segment employs the most people, at nearly 44,000 full time employees. The Upstream department is the second largest, with nearly 17,600 employees, and thirdly, BP’s other businesses and corporate employs 9,200 people. These people are employed throughout the world by BP, which produces oil in every continent (excluding Antarctica). BP’s drop of over 13,000 employees since 2012 is partly due to a restructuring plan put in place in 2015 as a result of falling oil prices. Prior to the falling oil prices, BP had already began downsizing following the disastrous Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that began in April 2010.

Employment within the global oil and gas industry

Although BP employs a large number of people, compared to other major global oil and gas companies it doesn’t even reach the top ten. As of 2019, the Chinese company, PetroChina, was the world’s largest oil and gas company based on employment numbers.