Venezuela’s State Oil Producer Tells Staff to Cut Costs by 50%

Already in default and struggling with sinking oil production, Venezuela’s state-run energy firm told its employees to cut costs and expenses by 50 percent in an austerity drive to reflect the broader economic crisis hitting the OPEC nation of 30 million people. PDVSA, as the oil producer is known, called on different business units, subsidiaries, joint ventures and staff to adhere to a long list of cost-cutting reforms amid the “national economic emergency” without affecting daily crude output, according to a memo sent to employees on Thursday that was seen by Bloomberg. PDVSA and the country’s Oil Ministry confirmed the contents of the memo. More…