Mining giant sacks 40 workers from Aust operation
MINING giant Peabody Energy has terminated 40 staff from its Australian operations today, the company has confirmed.
A Peabody spokeswoman said it was an “extremely difficult decision” for the company.
“(Peabody) is offering outplacement assistance and counselling to assist affected employees and their families during this difficult time,” she said.
“These actions come in response to macro industry conditions, including the mild Northern Hemisphere winter, historically low natural gas prices, trade and policy uncertainties and, most recently, the widespread disruption of COVID-19.”
The company was unable to confirm the roles and sites affected due to privacy reasons.
In October, Peabody announced it would significantly reduce its workforce at Moranbah’s North Goonyella mine within a few months.
At the time, the miner said it expected it could take three years or more to restart production at North Goonyella following a devastating underground fire at the mine in 2018.
The company continued to employ its workforce for more than a year despite the mine being out of production.
