LONDON (Reuters) — BP will cut about 15% of its workforce in response to the coronavirus crisis and as part of Chief Executive Bernard Looney’s plan to shift the oil and gas major to renewable energy, it said on Monday.

Looney told employees in a global online call that the London-based company will cut 10,000 jobs from the current 70,100.

The affected roles will be mostly senior office-based positions and not front-line operational staff, the company said of the cuts that follow April’s announcement of a 25% reduction in 2020 spending after the coronavirus pandemic brought an unprecedented drop in demand for oil.

BP also said it would find $2.5 bln in cost savings by the end of 2021 through the digitalisation and integration of its businesses.

The job reductions are also part of Looney’s drive to make the 111-year-old oil company (former Anglo-Persian) more nimble as it prepares for the shift to low-carbon energy, the sources said.