ANGLO American has begun a consultation process in the United Kingdom and South Africa to cut jobs, amid a broader restructuring aimed at refocusing its operations on copper and iron ore mining, said Reuters citing an Anglo spokesperson on Thursday.
As part of the strategic overhaul, the company is set to spin off its Anglo American Platinum by mid-year. It also sold its coal and nickel assets and plans to divest its De Beers diamond unit, said the newswire.
Bloomberg News earlier in the day reported that Anglo was planning to cut more jobs at its corporate office. The company has sent notices to employees who are likely to be affected, the report added, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
“These are clearly significant changes to our global business that naturally require adjustment to the resourcing of our corporate offices, so we are beginning consultation processes in the UK and South Africa to discuss proposed organisational changes,” a company spokesperson told Reuters in an email.
Anglo American has about 55,000 employees across the globe, according to its 2024 annual report.
A hefty $2.9bn write-down of De Beers pushed Anglo into a $3.1bn headline earnings loss for the 12 months ended December. On an Ebitda level, Anglo reported a 15% year-on-year decline to $8.5bn owingn to a 10% average decline in commodity prices, largely in iron ore.
Production fell 7%, mainly at the Grosvenor met coal mine in Australia following a fire, and the managed reduction of six million carats at De Beers’ mines.
Unit costs were flat partly owing to job cuts at Amplats and Kumba Iron Ore. Earnings per share came out at $1.60/s, a 34% decline.
