Under a plan announced in January, Amplats said it would cut 14 000 jobs but later scaled down the lay-offs after a backlash from the government and unions. (Madelene Cronje, M&G)
Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) reported on Wednesday that it will begin the formal process to cut 6 000 mining jobs, in a move that could spark more unrest in the volatile platinum belt.
Under a plan announced in January, Amplats, the world's top platinum producer, said it would cut 14 000 jobs but later scaled down the lay-offs after a backlash from the government and unions.
For Amplats, reining in costs and cutting output to underpin the price of platinum, used for emissions-capping catalytic converters in vehicles, is crucial to getting back to profit.
The company said it would now aim to produce 2.2- to 2.4-million ounces a year, up from the 2.1- to 2.3-million ounces targeted in the original plan. The revisions should deliver R3.8-billion in savings by 2015.
Unions have still vowed to fight the job cuts, although a protest strike called last week by at least two officials at the militant Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) failed to materialise.
'Resume the structured process'
Amplats said talks coordinated by the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration, an industrial arbitration body, would begin later this week.
"Anglo American Platinum, government and the unions will seek to resume the structured process under the auspices of the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration on Friday 24 May," it said in a statement.
Tensions in the platinum mines around Rustenburg, north-west of Johannesburg, are running high amid a turf war between Amcu and the National Union of Mineworkers. More than 50 people were killed in the unrest last year and wildcat strikes hit production. – Reuters