BHP has flagged the likelihood of further job cuts at its Olympic Dam mine, as it carries out a review of operations.
Whilst numbers are yet to be confirmed, it is understood that early reports putting the figure as high as 700 were incorrect.
This is the fourth round of job cuts at the mine since the start of this year, after announcing a workforce reduction in January, around 50 contractor positions in March, and 140 positions going in late June as part of a business simplification.
According to a BHP spokesperson, this latest round of job cuts at Olympic Dam “is consistent with the work being done in other BHP Billiton operations, and across the resources sector, and reflects the challenging external environment”.
“Our goal is to become a safe high performance organisation with a culture of respect, simplicity and collaboration,” they told Australian Mining.
“All areas of our business, including labour productivity, are being examined. A review is currently progressing in our operational areas and we expect there will be further workforce reductions.”
The miner added that it will work with staff let go in the upcoming reduction.
“As the implications become known we will hold individual conversations with affected employees quickly and respectfully.
“We will continue to provide internal and external Employee Assistance Programs and Outplacement assistance throughout this difficult process.”
Solid figures on the number of positions to be reduced are likely to come in the next few weeks.