By Rhiannon Hoyle
SYDNEY--BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP.AU) will pare back its workforce
linked to the Olympic Dam copper, uranium and gold mine in South
Australia state as it confronts a downturn in global commodity
markets.
The world's biggest mining company by market value will cut
roughly 140 jobs, largely from its office in South Australia's
capital Adelaide, a person familiar with the matter said.
In an emailed statement, BHP said the job cuts followed a review
of the operation, including labor productivity. The miner had
already made 90 employees redundant in January.
"At Olympic Dam, we continue to simplify our business to ensure
we are operating as efficiently as possible," BHP said. "This is
consistent with the work being done in other BHP Billiton
operations, and across the resources sector, and reflects the
challenging external environment."
BHP said the review of its operations was continuing.
-Write to Rhiannon Hoyle at rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com
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