Image: Royal Dutch ShellOil giant Royal Dutch Shell has announced plans to cut a further 2,800 jobs if its planned takeover of BG Group goes ahead.
The latest cuts amount to around 3% of Shell's global workforce, and follows an initial 6,500 jobs in July.
The £47 billion takeover of rival BG Group is set to be completed early in 2016 after receiving regulatory approval from the several markets in which the firms operate.
Ben van Beurden, Shell chief executive, said the two firms would "seek approval from both sets of shareholders as we move towards deal completion in early 2016".
But one investor has raised doubts over the potential success of the deal. David Cumming, head of equities at Standard Life Investments, which is a shareholder in both companies, said it would be "very difficult to make the deal work" will oil prices currently at below $40 per barrel. He believes oil needs to be priced $60-70 for the deal to be viable.
"Shareholders could vote the deal down, and the break fee is pretty low, so I think Shell will come under pressure over the next few months to say how the deal is going to work," Mr Cumming said.
