Mining major Anglo American, which today reported a steep decline in profit at $2.97 billion for the first half of 2009, has slashed more than 15,400 jobs in recent months.
Grappling with the raging financial turmoil, the company has embarked on various cost-cutting measures, including the reduction of head count by 19,000 by the end of this year.
Anglo American has reported a profit of $2.97 billion for the six months ended June 30, 2009, a fall of 30.6 per cent over the same period a year ago, it said in a statement today.
The lower profit was on account of falling metal and gems prices, triggered by sluggish global demand. In the year-ago period, the profit stood at $4.28 billion.
"We are also ahead of plan towards our global head count reduction, with a reduction of 15,405 already achieved out of a total reduction of 19,000 planned for the year," Anglo American's Chief Executive Cynthia Carroll said.
In February, the firm announced that employees worldwide would be trimmed by 19,000 in 2009.
According to the company, the difficult financing conditions for the mining industry are expected to continue to impact the funding and timing of many potential new mines and expansions.
