By Jesse Riseborough
March 2 (Bloomberg) -- Anglo American Plc’s coal unit, which has closed two mines in Australia this year, will slash a further 650 staff from operations in the country and monitor future production amid a slump in demand.
About 450 contractors were initially cut after the closures, bringing the total reductions from Australian coal operations to about 1,100 workers, Brisbane-based spokesman Aldo Pennini said today by phone. The company closed the Aquila and Dawson North coal mines in Queensland state in January, he said.
Chief Executive Officer Cynthia Carroll is seeking to cut 19,000 workers globally to curb costs as plummeting metal prices trims profits. A deepening global recession has slashed demand for steel and prompted mills in Asia, Europe and North America to cut output, curbing demand for coking coal, used to make steel.
“We are waiting to see how the market behaves in the short to medium term and we will make decisions accordingly,” Pennini said.
Anglo’s Aquila mine is part of the Capcoal operation, which includes four mines that produce about 8.5 million metric tons of coking coal a year, according to Anglo Coal’s Web site. The Dawson mine complex, 49 percent owned by Mitsui Coal Holdings Pty Ltd., produces 7 million tons a year.
The company has cut 1.8 million tons of coking coal and 2 million tons of thermal coal production, Macquarie Group Ltd. analysts said in a report today. Pennini declined to comment on production cuts.
Anglo Coal also owns the Callide, Drayton, Foxleigh and Moranbah North coal operation.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jesse Riseborough in Melbourne at jriseborough@bloomberg.net
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