Bloomberg reports that Lonmin plans to cut 4,100 workers at mines that have run out of profitable ore and are being closed.
The platinum producer has started a process required under South African labour law to carry out the workforce reductions, said spokesperson Wendy Tlou. The layoffs will come from six old mines that have run out of commercially viable ore. The cuts are part of Lonmin’s plan to trim its staff and lower costs at its deep-level mines. In 2017, the company indicated that it would cut 12,600 workers over a three-year period. Shareholders will be voting this month on an acquisition by rival Sibanye-Stillwater after the company struggled through years of losses and was forced to seek debt-covenant waivers from lenders.
- The original of this short report is at Mining Weekly
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