BP to cut 4,000 jobs globally as oil prices drop BP employs about 17,000 people in the U.S., with operations in Texas and Alaska Check out this story on KHOU.com: http://usat.ly/1P77Fmd NEW YORK-- Oil producer BP plans to slash more than 4,000 jobs over the next two years as oil prices plummet. BP will reduce its global upstream staff from 24,000 to "well below" 20,000 by the end of 2017, the company said in an emailed statement.