The British-Australian mining giant BHP Billiton announced on Wednesday that it will cut 6,300 jobs by June, a third of which will be in Australia.
The world’s largest mining company will cease operations at the nickel mine in Ravensthorpe, Western Australia. On the east coast, in New South Wales and Queensland, 1,100 jobs will be cut in coal mines. News of the layoffs at BHP came after rival Rio Tinto Alcan announced it would cut 1,100 jobs worldwide due to falling aluminum prices. Last year, Rio Tinto cut 14,000 jobs to align production capacity with weakening demand for products. BHP’s Chief Financial Officer Alex Vanselow stated that the company is in a competitive position to emerge from tough economic conditions. "We believe in the long-term process of urbanization in China and India, but we also think that fundamentally and beyond that, one must have normal business cycles," he said. "Therefore, we have been disciplined when times are good and we will continue to be so in the current uncertain times." (H)
