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Johannesburg - Lonmin Plc, the world's third-biggest platinum producer, retrenched 5 530 workers at its South African operations after demand plummeted due to the auto industry downturn, a union said.
Solidarity union said only 271 of the full-time workers were cut through a forced retrenchment process. The other 3 009 full-time employees opted for voluntary retrenchment packages, while the remaining 2 250 were contractors.
"The retrenchment process cost Lonmin approximately $44m, but according to the group's calculations eventually saves the company about $90m in staff costs," Solidarity said in a statement.
Lonmin is making the cuts to survive the market downturn following a big drop in demand for platinum from car makers, the biggest user of the metal, which has sent platinum prices tumbling more than 50% from its highest peak last year.
- Reuters