PORT HEDLAND, Australia--BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP), the world's
largest mining company by market value, said more job cuts are
possible amid a broader push to make its iron-ore operations in
northwestern Australia more profitable.
Jimmy Wilson, president of BHP's iron-ore unit, said Wednesday
any further layoffs "won't be in response to market prices" of the
steelmaking ingredient, which have declined by around a third this
year. He also said there isn't a targeted number of job cuts.
"It is very difficult for me to give precise answers as to what
that all works out to," Mr. Wilson told reporters. "Our aspiration
is to at least hold our headcount the same or reduce it while we
are increasing our volumes."
BHP Billiton has already cut about 100 jobs at the Perth
headquarters of its iron-ore division, a person familiar with the
matter said last month. A further 170 job cuts were made at BHP's
Mt Whaleback mine in the Pilbara, a remote region of Western
Australia that accounts for roughly two in every five tons of iron
ore traded by sea.
This year's fall in iron-ore prices was in line with BHP's
expectations, due to the rapid addition of new supply from
Australia, said Mike Henry, the company's marketing president. He
added that prices are likely to continue to decline for several
years.
Write to Rhiannon Hoyle at rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com
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