"We ask the oil and gas company not to lay them off. If the company insists on reducing the number of its employees, it should not resort to laying them off," he said at the Parliament Building here on Wednesday.
The minister said the company was likely to reduce the number of its employees as part of its revitalization program as it merges its companies in Sumatra and Kalimantan.
A drop in global oil prices is one of the factors forcing the company to take efficiency-enhancing measures, he said.
"We have also proposed incentives such as a tax holiday for the company, so that it puts the layoff plan on hold," he said.
Director General of Oil and Gas at the Energy and Mineral Ministry IGN Wiratmaja Puja said the Chevron employees will quit voluntarily after holding negotiations with the US-based oil company.
"The company has set itself the target of seeing 25 percent of its employees quit voluntarily," he said.
The voluntary exit has been offered not only to local workers but also to expatriates who have been offered bonuses, he said.
He said the US-based oil company is reducing the number of employees as several posts overlapped following the merger of two Chevron companies in Sumatra and Kalimantan.(WDY)
