SYDNEY-- BHP Billiton Ltd. and Mitsubishi Corp. will cut around
700 jobs from their joint Australian coal-mining operations, in a
continued effort to cut costs as prices for the fuel stagnate near
multiyear lows.
The companies--which run a coal business jointly under the name
BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance, or BMA--said they had completed a
review of their mines in central Queensland state and "found that
operational workforce numbers were greater than required to safely
and efficiently operate the business."
The BMA joint venture is the world's biggest exporter of
steelmaking coal.
"The company needed to redouble its efforts to improve the cost
base of the business to ensure that it remains competitive across
all cycles," BMA asset president Lucas Dow said.
Coking coal prices have been trading near their lowest level
since 2009 as rising supplies of the energy commodity, used in
steelmaking, have outpaced demand.
BHP Billiton executives last year said they would look to work
existing operations harder, to drive margins and returns higher, as
the world's largest mining company ruled out a further expansion of
its coal business.
BHP and other Australian miners invested billions of dollars in
new projects over the past decade against a backdrop of rising
prices for minerals, particularly coal and iron ore, which are
abundant in Australia and saw sharp demand growth in China. But a
slowdown in the pace of demand and softening in prices have
prompted many miners to curtail expansion plans and cut jobs at
existing projects.
Write to Rhiannon Hoyle at rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com
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