Happy Hour is Dead at PDVSA

(Bloomberg) -- Venezuela’s state-run oil company Petroleos de Venezuela is telling employees to stop hailing cabs and limit international calls as it seeks ways to trim costs amid fresh budget cuts, according to a memo sent to its staff two weeks ago seen by Bloomberg.

Employees are to reduce hotel stays to a minimum and suspend the leasing of any cars (armored or not), the memo stated. Any sort of company sponsored social gathering must be approved in advance by the company’s president, Manuel Quevedo, as well as the purchase of any electronics, including cellphones or tablets. A PDVSA press official declined to comment.

The former oil giant has seen output fall from a peak output of 3.71 million barrels a day in the 1990s to about 800,000 now. Irregular fuel supplies are commonplace in a country where shortages of food and basic medical supplies have led to one of the largest mass migrations of recent times. PDVSA announced similar measures almost two years ago when it cut its costs by 50% following the imposition of sanctions by the U.S. and called on its different business units to be more austere amid a “national economic emergency.”

To contact the reporter on this story:
Fabiola Zerpa in Caracas Office at fzerpa@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Patricia Laya at playa2@bloomberg.net
Bruce Douglas