Namibia – Rio Tinto: Rössing workers face layoffs

RIO Tinto group chief executive Tom Albanese this week dropped a bombshell when he announced that employee costs across the group would be slashed by ten per cent, including at Swakopmund’s Rössing Uranium.

A large chunk of the group’s employees may lose their jobs within the next three months.

In the letter which Albanese wrote to the group on Wednesday, he states that support and service costs have escalated by 30 per cent in recent years “and were due to increase even more this year unless we took immediate action”.

He announced in February already that no new support and service staff may be appointed and travel and consultancy costs should be cut.

Rössing Uranium spokesperson Jerome Mutumba yesterday said that it is too early to say exactly what will happen at Rössing.

Asked whether there will be layoffs at the Arandis mine, he replied: “I cannot say that. Like others in the industry, Rio Tinto is facing the challenge of increasing costs. We are actively seeking ways to tackle this.

“This includes a programme of reductions in service and support costs across the global organisation, which have been rising sharply in recent times. We cannot do this effectively without reducing employee costs”.

Rössing’s total workforce is 1 637 and a 10 per cent reduction in the workforce translates into about 160 jobs…

via the Namibian: Rössing workers face layoffs.