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Category: Mining Industry / Coal

Perth-based South32 to slash 700 jobs across Australia

Thursday, 25 Feb 2016 08:32:26 | Kathryn Diss

BHP-owned mining company South 32's headquarters in Perth, WA (Clint Jasper)

Base metal and coal mining firm South32, a spin off from BHP Billiton, has reported a massive loss for the half-year and says it will cut 700 jobs across Australia.

In the six months to the end of December the company, which demerged from BHP in May last year, lost US$1.75 billion.

It is a dramatic turnaround from the Perth-based company's US$339 million profit from the year before.

It has posted underlying earnings of just US$26 million, down from US$460 million on the year before.

It did manage to reduce debt by US$286 million to US$116 million.

The company said the result was due to write downs in its coal, alumina and manganese operations, reflecting the global slump in commodity prices.

Of the Australian job losses, more than half will come from the Worsley alumina refinery in Western Australia, with 390 workers and contractors set to lose their jobs before the end of financial year.

South32 said production costs per tonne at Worsley reduced by 11 per cent during the half but it is looking to reduce them even further.

The news follows an earlier announcement that 620 employees would be slashed from the company's Samancor mine in South Africa.

Total revenue for the company was down 27 per cent to $2.98 billion from the same period last year.

BHP Billiton posted a $7.8 billion loss earlier this week.

AustraliaPlus


 

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