OIL giant BP sparked fury today as it announced thousands more job cuts after revealing its largest oil and gas discovery for 25 years and higher-than-expected £1.8 billion quarterly profits.

The fossil fuel giant revealed an extra 1,500 jobs and 1,200 contractor roles are being axed across its global workforce by the end of the year.

It signalled possible further cuts as it ramps up cost savings, adding that it now expects 6,200 jobs — about 15 per cent of its office-based workforce — to go.

This is higher than the 4,700 cuts announced at the start of the year, with a focus on AI to drive cost efficiencies.

It came as it announced it had beaten its second quarterly profit expectations by £450 million and a day after announcing a major fossil fuel discovery off the coast of Brazil.

BP did not give a country breakdown of the extra job cuts this year, but said they will be across its British and overseas sites.

The firm employed about 14,000 workers in Britain at the start of 2025.

End Fuel Poverty Coalition co-ordinator Simon Francis said: “As BP announces yet more profits, it’s clear that oil and gas giants are continuing to prioritise shareholder returns over public responsibility. 

“At the same time, BP is rowing back on its already limited renewable energy commitments, an extraordinary act of short-termism in the face of mounting climate and energy crises.

“North Sea gas reserves are running dry, with UK production set to fall short of national heating needs by 2027. 

“Yet instead of planning for the inevitable decline of fossil fuels, companies like BP are doubling down on a model that’s failing both households and the planet.

“A just transition to clean, homegrown energy would cut bills, secure long-term jobs, and end our exposure to volatile global gas markets.”

Scottish Green co-leader Patrick Harvie added: “It is the sign of a broken system when some of the world’s biggest corporations are making such obscene profits while our world is burning.

“We badly need an end to new oil and gas exploration and a windfall tax worthy of the name so that we can raise vital funds for public investment in the green jobs that are critical for our economy and our future.”