Shell to cut 6,500 jobs after 2Q profit drop

Royal Dutch Shell plans to axe 6,500 jobs this year and step up spending cuts, responding to an extended period of lower oil prices which contributed to a 37 percent drop in the oil and gas group's second-quarter profits.

Shell’s job reductions came as Chevron Corp. said Wednesday it would cut 1,500 jobs, while U.K. utility Centrica PLC said Thursday it would slash 6,000 positions and work to shrink its oil-and-gas production division. Oil services firm Saipem SpA of Italy said it would slash 8,800 jobs during the next two years, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Shell posted second-quarter profits of $3.4 billion, a 33 percent drop from $5.1 billion a year earlier.

Read more from the Wall Street Journal.