0% BHP manganese division hit
Ines Schumacher | Mon, 15 Jun 2009 17:55[miningmx.com] -- BHP Billiton needs to retrench more than 15% of employees at Samancor Manganese’s Hotazel manganese mines (HMM) in the Northern Cape because of production cutbacks in the face of weak market conditions. The process of retrenching 150 of the mine’s 945 employees started on Monday at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) in Kimberly, trade union Solidarity said in a statement. “The global economic downturn has created very challenging market conditions and the job reductions are the result of structuring the operations at the appropriate level for what we will produce in the business in order to meet demand,” a BHP Billiton spokesperson told Miningmx. Manganese is used in making stainless steel, an industry which has been hit hard by the economic downturn. “The pressure on the communities of the Northern Cape is now reaching alarming levels,” Solidarity spokesperson Jaco Kleynhans said. “The region’s mines, diamond and manganese in particular, are being affected by the economic climate.” Solidarity said the consultation process BHP Billiton began on Monday would be used to try to limit the effects of current conditions on HMM employees. “There are several alternatives that should be considered first and therefore the retrenchment of the 150 employees should be considered as a last resort,” Kleynhans said. BHP Billiton maintains that the retrenchments are necessary to ensure a sustainable long-term business. “We are certain that as long as the cost base is managed sensibly, in the long term Hotazel Manganese Mines will grow and remain profitable,” the spokesperson said.
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