Fortescue Metals considers cutting up to 1,000 jobs

Australian iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) is looking to trim its personnel by up to 1,000 employees to reduce costs, reported The Australian via Reuters.

The decision could impact Fortescue Future Industries, a clean energy subsidiary focused on producing hydrogen using renewable energy; and head office functions such as IT and finance, reported the news agency citing unnamed sources.

An FMG spokesperson said any significant change to personnel would require board approval, which has not been received.

The spokesperson said: “We are always looking for opportunities for continuous business improvement.”

The firm is looking to cut costs despite iron ore prices rallying in more than three months.

Some of the redundancies come after the near completion of Fortescue’s Iron Bridge project, which is expected to start production next month.

FMG’s incorporated joint venture company Ivindo Iron SA (Ivindo Iron) recently signed a mining convention with the Gabonese Republic for its Belinga iron-ore project.

The convention governs all the fiscal, legal, and regulatory rules for the 4,500km² area, which comprises the Belinga Project.

Ivindo owns a 90% stake in the project while the remaining stake is held by the Belinga joint venture (JV), which, in turn, is 80% held by Fortescue and 20% by its JV partner, the African Transformation and Industrialization Fund.

Last year, FMG unveiled plans to spend $6.2bn to end the use of fossil fuels from its iron ore operations by the end of 2030.

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