HOUSTON, Nov 16 (Reuters) - BP Plc plans to cutbetween 50 and 80 salaried positions at the company's413,500-barrel-per-day refinery in Whiting, Indiana, a companyspokesman said on Wednesday.
Union-represented hourly and salaried employees at therefinery, which is BP's largest in the United States, will notbe affected by the layoffs, said spokesman Michael Abendhoff.
The cuts come as U.S. refiners have weathered a sharpdownturn in refining profits due to rising global oil prices.
"We are always looking at our business to make sure that wehave the right people in the right roles to operate efficiently,safely and reliably," Abendhoff said.
Abendhoff did not say when the cuts, which are between 3percent and 4 percent of the plant's total workforce of 1,800employees and contractors, would take effect. (Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)