Harmony plans to soften job cut blow

Johannesburg - Bullion producer Harmony Gold [JSE:HAR] said on Tuesday it aims to minimise redundancies at the loss-making Doornkop mine its is trying to revamp, after the National Union of Mineworkers said 3 000 jobs could be lost.

The move by Harmony, which has been battling to turn a profit across its operations in the face of depressed prices and rising costs, also comes ahead of tough wage talks in the gold sector which are set to begin this month.

Harmony's chief executive Graham Briggs said given the current weak gold price and the significant capital investment required to sustain Doornkop, the mine will continue making a loss in the foreseeable future unless it is restructured.

"All stakeholders are being consulted in an effort to minimise job losses and to find a lasting and sustainable solution for Doornkop’s viability," Briggs said in a statement.

"Doornkop mine continues to be a drain on the efforts and resources of Harmony, and we need to stem these losses."

The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said last week that Harmony had initiated talks which could see over 3 000 jobs shed at Doornkop.