“Most of them are on contract,” he told reporters briefly in Dengkil, Selangor, today.

He was asked to comment on the national oil and gas company’s announcement that it intends to reduce its headcount by more than 5,000 people, and to freeze hiring until December 2026.

The retrenchment plan is part of a company-wide restructuring as Petronas looks to reduce costs due to falling crude prices.

Petronas president and group CEO Tengku Muhammad Taufik Aziz was reported as saying yesterday that the company sets its budget based on Brent crude oil priced at around US$75 to US$80 per barrel.

The global benchmark is currently trading near US$65, down about 13% this year, as trade tensions threaten global growth and OPEC+ restores production.

Petronas’s net income slid 32% in 2024 after a 21% drop in 2023.

Separately, Anwar said he will contact Thai prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra this afternoon to discuss the Thai-Cambodia border dispute.

“We will release a statement after that,” he said.

Thailand and Cambodia have seen military clashes since 2008, resulting in at least 28 deaths.

The most recent occurred on May 28 when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a location known as the Emerald Triangle, a joint border area between Cambodia, Thailand and Laos.