In this morning's business round-up: BP gets a new man at the top, HP announces 9,000 job losses, the UK's City regulator attacks insurers and a major Dutch supermarket recalls meat products...

BP chief exec steps down

BP's chief executive Bob Dudley has become the third FTSE 100 boss this week to announce his imminent departure from the top role. Having taken up the role of chief exec his biggest challenge was managing the fallout from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon drilling disaster.  The 63-year-old American is the longest-serving boss of any of the major oil corporations. 

Dudley, who has been with the oil giant for 40 years, will be replaced next February by Bernard Looney, currently CEO of BP's Upstream operations. Earlier this week, Tesco chief exec Dave Lewis and Imperial Brands' Alison Cooper also announced plans to step down.

HP plans to cut up to 9,000 jobs

Computer giant HP inc. is to cut thousands of jobs as it seeks to lower costs and simplify its operating model. HP plans to lose between 7,000 and 9,000 workers over the next three years "through a combination of employee exits and voluntary early retirement." As it currently has around 55,000 global employees, that could represent almost one in six jobs. 

HP said it expects to incur costs of around $1bn during the three-year restructure, but that these would be matched by the savings it makes by the end of 2022. Announcing estimated earnings per share of between $1.98 and $2.10 for the 2020 financial year along with a $5bn share repurchase. Incoming president and chief executive Enrique Lores pledged that by "aggressively transforming the way we work… we will become an even more customer-focused and digitally-enabled company."

City regulator slams insurance firms' "loyalty penalty"

The City of London regulator has said that UK customers are overpaying by an average of $246 per year for car and home insurance. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is threatening to introduce bans on automatic price rises, which it calls a "loyalty penalty," or to force firms to automatically move customers to cheaper equivalent deals. 

The FCA will publish its final report next year after further consultation. These proposals come in the same week that the UK's energy watchdog Ofgem admitted that energy network companies had made larger than expected profits at the expense of household bills. 

Dutch supermarket recalls 135 meat products in listeria scare

Dutch supermarket chain Jumbo is recalling dozens of lines of pre-packed meat products over fears they may be contaminated with listeria bacteria. It has removed all the potentially contaminated meat from its supermarket shelves. The recall spans 135 products, and Jumbo are asking customers to return the products for a refund.

Established in 1921, Jumbo is the second-largest Dutch supermarket chain, with around 600 stores across the Netherlands. It recorded sales of over $7.69bn in 2017 and announced plans in June to expand into Belgium.