50 Jobs At Stake As Ivanhoe Australia Restrategizes To Save Costs
At least 50 jobs of varied nature stand to get affected in the recently concluded strategic business review of Ivanhoe Australia Ltd., which it conducted to cut costs and generate savings for the company.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the Melbourne-based miner said it is already finalising the initial phase of the strategic and operational review which it first announced in May. Composed of two phases, once fully implemented, the strategic business review could generate savings for the company of at least up to $45 million combined.
Under the first phase, over the next two weeks, approximately $10 million is expected to be saved in the current financial year, brought by lower labour costs because of the reduced staff numbers. Although the specific positions that will be affected have not all been identified, 50 positions will be hit from this development.
Ivanhoe Australia Ltd. said a further savings of approximately $20 million, still under phase one, in "other areas of expenditure reduction," is expected in the next four weeks.
"These are difficult, but necessary first steps to improve the performance of the company and begin to create a sustainable platform for future growth. In the coming months we will further define the company's direction and structure to create greater certainty for all of our stakeholders," Inés Scotland, Ivanhoe Australia managing director, said in the statement.
A review of the company's development program and assets, which forms part of the review's second phase, will continue for a further three months, the Australian miner said.
"This phase will include completion of the mining strategy review currently underway, which has identified the need to consider the consolidation of all underground mining and maintenance activities under one contractor to further reduce costs and improve flexibility."
"This is expected to deliver capital cost savings of approximately $25 million and operating cost savings of around 5 per cent," Ivanhoe Australia Ltd. said.