BP shareholders reject pay deal for chief executive

Shareholders in BP Thursday rejected a pay deal worth $19.6 million (17.3 million euros) for chief executive Bob Dudley amid heavy losses and job cuts at the oil giant.

Only 40.89 percent voted in favour of the deal in a non-binding vote which highlighted shareholder discontent at BP's annual general meeting in London.

The deal would see Dudley's pay package increase by 20 percent compared to the previous year.

The London-listed energy group clocked up a loss of $6.5 billion (5.7 billion euros) last year -- the biggest for at least 20 years -- following a global collapse in oil prices and costs relating to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2010.

It also announced it would axe another 3,000 jobs, taking its total cull to 11,000 positions since the start of 2015.

Ahead of the vote, one institutional investor, Aberdeen Asset Management, said Dudley's pay structure was "overly complex" and voiced confidence that "the company will take note of shareholders' feedback".