YEN Azerbaijan

Baku, September 13, AssA-Irada


BP Azerbaijan's oil field contractor McDermott is expected to dismiss a
total of 800 Azeri workers under a staff-cut soon. 20 Azeris have already
been laid off, the trade union said.

Azerbaijanis comprise about 80% of McDermott's workforce.


Another foreign oil field contractor, BosShelf, has halved its workforce,
the chairman of its local workers' trade union, Allahyar Eyyubov, said.


"The future of the people employed by the company is under a question mark,"
he said.


The staff-cuts are due to the completion of the third stage of offshore oil
production in Azerbaijan. The measure may spark off mass protest actions.

Azeri workers have already staged a series of strikes in foreign oil
companies demanding better working conditions, healthcare and equal
treatment with their foreign counterparts.

McDermott Caspian Contractors Inc. is a leading worldwide energy services
company. The company provides products, services and creative solutions to
the offshore oil and gas industry.*