Brazil: Oil Workers Announce Strike at Petrobras

Petrobras oil workers are preparing to go on strike Sunday for an “undetermined period” to protest against planned budget cuts and divestment to the state-owned oil company. 

“The new oil workers’ strike will take place in protest of the new business plan of Petrobras, which represents a real dismantling of the company, whose impacts are already taking place in various units of the country, with thousands of layoffs of contract workers and cuts in spending,” Brazil's Federation of Oil Workers (FUP)  said in a statement.

The drop in spending has already led to layoffs throughout Brazil, with the company suspending the construction of refineries and floating production units.

Labor representatives said Tuesday that Sunday’s strike will likely affect the company's administrative and operational areas.

Workers also want Petrobras to stop plans to sell off US$15.1 billion in assets over the next two years, according to the FUP press release.

"To reverse these attacks, workers that won't run from a fight and are accustomed to confronting this type of battle will respond with a strike," FUP said in a statement.

The last major strike at Petrobras was a five-day walkout in 2008 that affected 33 production units. That strike cost Petrobras about 33,000 barrels per day in output.

FUP is an umbrella union that represents workers at Petrobras' production facilities, including refineries, distribution terminals and pipelines.