Woodside Job Cuts: What It Means for WA Workers

Business

Woodside Job Cuts: More Than 500 Roles to Go in US$400 Million Savings Drive, Raising Fears for WA Workers

By Miki Farmer

November 12, 2026

An offshore oil and gas drilling platform in Australian waters

Table of Content

The Woodside job cuts are at the heart of a new US$400 million cost-cutting drive announced by Perth-based Woodside Energy on Thursday 5 November, raising fears for Western Australian workers. The company, one of Australia’s largest oil and gas producers, says more than 500 roles will go worldwide as it works towards annual structural savings from 2028 and concentrates spending on its most profitable projects.

Woodside has not said where the cuts will fall. Here is what was announced, why shares fell, how the move fits a wider wave of corporate job losses and what it could mean for Western Australia.

What Woodside announced

Chief executive Liz Westcott outlined the plan at the company’s Capital Markets Day in Sydney. According to ABC News, Woodside will cut at least 500 jobs from its global workforce as part of a restructure aimed at lifting returns to investors. Splash247 reported that the target has risen to US$400 million a year from 2028, up from US$350 million announced in August, and that the reductions will happen over time.

The job cuts are only one lever. According to HCA Magazine, Woodside also plans AI-enabled maintenance planning, supply chain optimisation, risk-based contracting and portfolio changes, including its Calypso, Sunrise and Bonaparte carbon capture and storage projects. The US$400 million figure equates to roughly A$550 million to A$570 million, depending on the exchange rate used by different outlets.

The Woodside job cuts by the numbers

Jobs: More than 500 roles, equivalent to about 10% to 11% of the workforce.
Workforce: Woodside employed 4,693 people at the end of 2025, including 3,717 in Australia, according to its latest annual figures.
Savings: US$400 million a year in structural cost reductions from 2028.
Returns: A target of 12% to 15% return on investment for all projects by the middle of the next decade.
Growth: Sales volumes are expected to rise by more than 30% to about 280 million barrels of oil equivalent in 2032, with more than US$40 billion of adjusted operating cash flow from 2027 to 2032, Rigzone reported.
Dividends: A new payout policy replaces a 13-year-old policy and links distributions more closely to the cash the business generates.

Why shares fell and why Woodside is cutting now

Woodside shares fell about 6% on the day, and by as much as 6.8% at one point, roughly in line with rival Santos. According to reports based on Reuters and Bloomberg, the slide followed a drop in oil prices, with the Brent benchmark losing 8.7% the previous day to its lowest since late August.

The restructure also reflects a shift in strategy since Westcott became permanent chief executive earlier this year. Woodside has sold its Trinidad and Tobago gas fields and its stake in the Greater Sunrise project, and is looking to sell a clean ammonia project. Westcott said the priority is to extract more value from the portfolio, and the ABC reported that she singled out the Scarborough gas project as one of the ventures that would greatly strengthen the company’s finances for years. An analyst quoted by the ABC described the changes as a very strong focus on shareholder value.

What it means for Western Australia

According to the ABC, about 80% of Woodside’s workforce is based in Australia, with the vast majority in Western Australia, which has fuelled concerns that West Australians will bear many of the job losses. It is unclear how many of the cuts will fall in Australia, and Woodside has not named the operations or countries affected.

The company is based in Perth, and a smaller workforce could have flow-on effects for contractors and local suppliers, although the size of any impact will depend on where the roles are cut. WA’s jobs market has held up better than most states, as we reported in our analysis of the latest unemployment figures, but it is closely tied to the resources sector.

A wider wave of corporate job cuts

Woodside is not alone. Qantas announced on 10 November that it will cut 850 corporate jobs, about 3% of its roughly 28,000-strong Australian workforce, as some work moves to Accenture, according to the ABC. Its shares rose more than 6%. The Australian Services Union said it was shocked, and Qantas disputed the union’s account of earlier discussions. ABC live coverage also reported that NAB’s annual profit fell 9.1% and that it was slowing job cuts until after Christmas.

An ABC analysis found that NAB, Westpac, Telstra, Bank of Queensland, Coles, Officeworks and Qantas have all announced plans to cut Australian jobs and move roles to Asia in recent years, often through global capacity centres. Together with the collapse of David Jones, covered in our report on the David Jones administration, it points to a tough period for workers.

What affected workers can do

This is general information, not legal or financial advice.

Know your entitlements: Eligible employees may be entitled to notice, redundancy pay and accrued leave. Ask for the details in writing.
Seek advice early: Your union, the Fair Work Ombudsman and a financial counsellor can explain your options.
Update your skills and profile: Our explainer on AI and jobs in Australia looks at which skills are in demand.
Stay alert to scams: Job losses attract recruitment scammers, so verify offers independently.

What to watch next

Where the cuts fall: Whether Woodside identifies roles and locations, and how many are in WA.
Timing: How quickly the reductions are rolled out ahead of the 2028 savings target.
Oil prices: Whether the recent slide continues and how rivals such as Santos respond.
Jobs data: The ABS will release October labour force figures on 19 November.

For more local coverage, see our business news.