Woodside to Cut More Than 500 Jobs in US$400m Cost Plan; Most Staff Work in Australia
Woodside job cuts: 500+ roles to go in a US$400m a year cost plan from 2028. 3,717 of its 4,693 staff work in Australia. What it means for Perth workers.
Perth-headquartered Woodside Energy plans to cut more than 500 jobs from its global workforce as part of a US$400 million a year cost reduction program, the company told the ASX on Thursday 5 November 2026. The cut is more than 10% of the 4,693 people Woodside employed at the end of 2025, and 3,717 of those employees were based in Australia.
What did Woodside announce?
Woodside announced a higher cost-out target at its 2026 Capital Markets Day in Sydney. In the ASX announcement, chief executive Liz Westcott said the company was "targeting US$400 million of annual structural cost reductions from 2028". The target is measured against Woodside's 2025 cost base.
The investor presentation attached to the announcement breaks the target into three parts:
| Savings source | Annual target (US$) |
|---|---|
| External spend | $170 million |
| Streamlined processes | $130 million |
| Portfolio optimisation | $100 million |
| Total | $400 million |
The same slide lists five ways Woodside plans to deliver the savings: portfolio optimisation (including Calypso, Sunrise and Bonaparte CCS), AI-enabled maintenance planning, supply chain optimisation, risk-based contracting, and a workforce reduction of more than 500 roles. Outside the portfolio savings, Woodside expects about 65% of the reduction to come from operating expenditure, about 30% from capital spending (including sustaining capital) and about 5% from general and administrative costs.
How many Woodside jobs are in Australia?
Most of Woodside's workforce is in Australia. Its 2025 Annual Report counts 3,717 employees in Australia at 31 December 2025, out of 4,693 worldwide. The next largest region was the Americas with 897 staff. Woodside also reported 409 contractors.
The company runs its business from its Mia Yellagonga headquarters in Perth and operates the North West Shelf, Pluto LNG and the Scarborough project off the Pilbara coast. The presentation says Scarborough is 99% complete and on track for its first LNG cargo this year.
Woodside's ASX filing doesn't say how the 500-plus job cuts will be split between Australia, the United States and other countries, or between head office, operations and project roles. Workers should treat any regional split reported elsewhere with caution until Woodside confirms it.
Is Woodside still hiring in WA?
Yes, but on a small scale. On 5 November, Jobs In Perth's feed listed 3 live direct-from-employer ads from Woodside: an ERP functional lead, a Karratha-based corporate affairs manager for the North West, and a QMI technician. All three close between 18 and 20 November.
Those three ads make up most of the 4 live oil and gas ads across WA in our feed on the same day. The fourth was a Fortescue research and development role in Perth.
What it means for Perth job seekers
Workers in oil and gas who are worried about their role have a wider market in WA's resources and engineering sectors. On 5 November our feed showed:
- 30 live engineering ads across WA, with Fortescue, Curtin University and Mineral Resources posting the most. The median advertised salary midpoint was about $131,000, based on the 9 ads that quoted an annual salary.
- 253 live mining ads across WA. Of the 50 newest, Rio Tinto posted 21 and Mineral Resources 15.
- 169 live FIFO ads statewide, led by Rio Tinto, Mineral Resources and Fortescue among the 50 newest.
Woodside's plan to use AI for maintenance planning also fits a wider pattern. Our earlier report on ABS data on AI and WA job vacancies found 3.4% of WA businesses said AI had reduced their vacancies in August 2026.
How we reported this
- The job cut, cost target, savings breakdown and Scarborough status come from Woodside's ASX announcement and Capital Markets Day 2026 presentation, released on 5 November 2026.
- Employee numbers by region come from the Employees section of Woodside's 2025 Annual Report (figures at 31 December 2025).
- Jobs In Perth figures are live direct-from-employer ads in our feed, observed on 5 November 2026. Recruitment agency and aggregator ads are not included. These are advertised vacancies, not people employed.
- Cover image: AI-generated illustration, not a photo of the event.
Sources
About this reporting
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