South African platinum miner Implats said today that it would slash some 13,000 jobs as it takes drastic steps to keep a struggling unit afloat.
The Johannesburg-based miner said it would cut its workforce at a complex in Rustenburg, in the north of the country, to 27,000 employees and contractors over two years.
It will also shrink the number of shafts operating there from 11 to six, it added in a strategic update.
"Structural changes are required to restore the operation to long-term profitability," the company said.
Implats, the world's second-largest producer of platinum, has like its rivals struggled as prices of the metal hover at a near-decade low.
It has been considering how to turn the sprawling Rustenburg complex around for months.
By slashing its labour costs, Implats is hoping the restructuring plan will restore Rustenburg to "long-term economic viability" by the 2021 financial year.
Job cuts are politically sensitive in a country with unemployment of over 25 percent, and the South African government blasted Implats' decision. Mining minister Gwede Mantashe called it "a clear example of a company that is
careless and mindlessly committed to implement its pre-determined outcome, no matter how unworkable that might be".
"Their reckless actions add injury to insult," he added.
Platinum, a precious metal, is vital as an industrial component used in everything from car production to pharmaceuticals.
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