Brazilian mining giant Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (Vale) has announced that of its global workforce of 62,000 it is laying off 1,300 workers and also putting 5,500 more on paid leave until February, as part of its plans to reduce production by 10 percent in the context of the global economic downturn and its impact on steel production.
The 1,300 layoffs are to be implemented globally, with the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais accounting for 20 percent of the figure. Of the 5,500 taking paid leave, 80 percent are from the state of Minas Gerais.
In late October, the group had announced plans to cut its 315 million mt iron ore production by 10 percent. The cuts mainly concern high-cost mines with lower-quality manganese as well as ferroalloy operations in the southern system and southeastern systems, in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Besides, Vale's Dunkerque ferroalloy plant will also close down until April 2009, while ferroalloy furnace maintenance will be extended in Norway and France until June 2009.