The announcement comes after the fifth and final merger clearance was confirmed after the Chinese Ministry of Commerce gave its approval. Shell have said the proposal remains on track for completion in early 2016.
Shell said it expects the restructuring is needed to achieve the expected benefits of the deal, including previously disclosed and reported-on pre-tax synergies of $3.5 billion.
These reductions are in addition to the plans to reduce Shell’s headcount and contractor positions by 7,500 globally announced earlier this year.
The 2,800 figure works out as around 3 per cent of Shell’s entire workforce of approximately 94,000. BG Groups global headcount ends at 5,200.
The BG Group said in a statement that the proposed combination will require support from both BG Group and Shell shareholders and BG Group shareholders should now await further communications from their board.
BG Group Chief Executive Helge Lund said “Following today’s approval from MOFCOM, all preconditional regulatory approvals for the combination have been received and we now move to the next phase.
“I am pleased that we have continued to deliver a strong operating and safety performance throughout the offer period which is a credit to our teams across the business. The proposed combination has strong industrial logic, particularly in deep water production and LNG, and will accelerate the delivery of value to our shareholders.”?
At yesterday’s close, Shell share prices have hit their lowest since 2009 in the UK, Dutch, and New York markets. The BG merger was announced in April, but Shell shares have been on a steady decline since the beginning of 2015.
BG shares, which rocketed in April, are currently at similar levels to that of before Shell’s announcement of the takeover.