Glencore has announced they will cut 180 jobs at Collinsville coal mine by March next year
The company said they commenced consultation last week with its Collinsville workforce over further steps to reduce production at the mine.
“Lower coal prices and market oversupply have contributed to Collinsville incurring financial losses during 2015,” Glencore said in a statement.
“In 2016, we will phase down overburden removal and only produce coal from in-pit inventory and field stockpiles. We will reassess the situation during the year.
“The operational changes at Collinsville are expected to affect approximately 180 positions across the 230-strong workforce.
“The major reductions in workforce numbers will be initiated by the beginning of March 2016.”
Glencore said production will halt for about three weeks over Christmas, with workers taking annual leave during this period.
“We have support services in place for those employees and their families who are affected by the decision, and we will look at options for redeployment where possible,” the company said.
“It is a particularly difficult decision given the significant effort and the improvements made at Collinsville by Glencore and the entire workforce over the last two years in attempting to turn around the mine’s financial position.
“The situation at Collinsville reflects the challenges being faced by all Australian coal mines in one of the most difficult markets in the industry’s recent history.”
Thermal coal prices have dropped 43 per cent from ~US$95/t (Sept 2013 – when Glencore took operations at Collinsville in-house) to ~US$54/t (Oct 2015).
“Glencore will continue to take proactive steps to manage our coal business in the current commodity pricing environment.”
In May, Glencore cut 80 jobs from the same mine in an attempt to reduce coal production at the site. In October, the company announced a 500,000 tonne reduction of contained zinc metal mine production across its operations, with the Lady Loretta mine ceasing operations leading to 242 job losses, and production reduced at George Fisher mine, near Mt Isa, with 224 jobs slashed.
Collinsville is Queensland’s oldest coal mine and has been in operation for almost 100 years.
Image: ABC
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