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Jul 30, 2009
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SAfrica union warns of further job cuts at Anglo Platinum

By
Reuters
Published
Jul 30, 2009

JOHANNESBURG, July 29 (Reuters) - South Africa's Solidarity union said on Wednesday 30 July Anglo American Plc (AAL.L) plans to shed further jobs in South Africa, and accused the company of adopting a short-term survival strategy.



Anglo Platinum (AMSJ.J), the world's largest platinum producer, has dismissed 11,931 workers since the last part of 2008 in a retrenchment process meant to cope with reduced demand for the metal during the global economic downturn.

Solidarity said in a statement that Angloplat and its main shareholder Anglo American (AAL.L)(AGLJ.J) plan a second wave of job cuts, which the union said showed that the companies had a serious lack of faith in the future.

"It is rumoured that Anglo American plans to cut the personnel at its South African head office by 25 percent," said Gideon du Plessis, deputy general secretary of Solidarity.

"The Anglo Platinum head office allegedly has to be reduced by 35 percent by December 2009. The chief executive officer of Anglo American, Cynthia Carroll, will announce the decision early in August."

Anglo's Johannesburg-based spokesman Pranill Ramchander said an update on the reduction of headcount would be provided on 31 July 2009 at the company's interim results presentation.

"We do not comment on market rumour," he said.

Solidarity, a mainly white union representing skilled workers and supervisors, said staff at Angloplat's head office in Johannesburg had been reduced to 583 from 701.

Du Plessis said Solidarity may reconsider its support of Anglo in its opposition to a proposed merger with Xstrata (XTA.L) if Anglo continues cutting jobs.

"Solidarity is concerned about the process now moving to the head offices. This is an indication that middle and top management are starting to suffer and that the companies are exhibiting a short-term survival strategy," he said.

Angloplat said on Monday 27 July first-half headline earnings per share plunged 95 percent on a weaker metals price.[ID:nLR76707]

In February, Anglo, the world's fourth-biggest diversified miner by market value, scrapped its 2008 final dividend to conserve cash, and said it would cut 19,000 jobs as it posted a weaker-than-forecast 1 percent fall in profit. (Reporting by James Macharia; editing by Simon Jessop)

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