In a bid to cut costs, Brazil’s state-run oil company Petróleo Brasileiro SA — better known as Petrobras (www.petrobras.com) — has announced a voluntary lay-off programme that will affect up to 12,000 people. This is being offered to all employees, regardless of age or level of seniority. It is expected to cost 4.4 billion reals ($1.2 billion) but could save the company up to 33 billion reals by 2020.

Petrobras has been making widespread cuts over the past year, reducing its investment plan and listing assets for sale as it tries to cope with low oil prices and a huge corruption scandal.

The group had 78,470 employees at the end of last year, down from a high of 86,111 at the end of 2013, and thousands of contractors dependent on it have been ‘let go’ or not had their contracts renewed.

In March, the group reported a fourth-quarter loss of 36.94 billion reals (39% higher than a year earlier) after lower oil prices and higher borrowing costs forced it to write off 49.75 billion reals in assets and investments.

Meanwhile, Brazil’s Odebrecht construction company has put assets up for sale to raise 12 billion reals ($ 3.3 billion). CEO Newton de Souza told a national newspaper that his company plans to sell a hydro-electric power plant, a road concession in Peru and a stake in a petroleum block in Angola.

Mr Souza became president last year after former chief executive Marcelo Odebrecht was arrested. In early March, the latter was sentenced to 19 years in prison for corruption and money laundering.