- The mining giant admits that there will be an “impact on the workforce”
- Boss Duncan Wanblad announced Anglo would cut spending on the project
- Sources said 80% of the 1,400 employees working at the site could face the axe.
Anglo American admitted last night that jobs will disappear at its Yorkshire potash mine.
The mining giant admitted there will be an “impact on workforce”, days after chief executive Duncan Wanblad announced it would cut spending on the Woodsmith fertilizer project, near Whitby.
Sources told the Mail that 80 per cent of the 1,400 employees working at the site could face the axe. This would be equivalent to 1,120 jobs.
The cuts to investment in Woodsmith are part of a huge restructuring plan unveiled by Wanblad as it desperately tries to fend off a takeover by the company’s biggest rival, BHP.
Plans include divesting its De Beers diamond business, as well as its platinum division in South Africa and its coking coal and nickel operations.
Cuts: Anglo American has admitted jobs will be lost at its Yorkshire potash mine
Anglo has rejected two bids so far – valuing them at £31bn and £34bn – and Australian giant BHP has until Wednesday to submit another offer.
Job cuts at Woodsmith will be a blow to the local community and will raise fears that the future of the project is at risk.
Many hoped the mine, which will extract an unusual type of fertilizer known as polyhalite, which contains potash, would revitalize the area and be a key employer.
Wanblad’s survival plan will allow the company to focus on its lucrative copper and iron ore mines, as well as retaining the Woodsmith project.
However, despite insisting that Anglo is “committed” to the project, Wanblad said it would spend just £160m on Woodsmith next year and nothing at all in 2026. It previously planned to spend £800m each year.
Stifling investment also means that the mine’s first extraction of fertilizer, scheduled for 2027, is likely to be delayed.
Anglo wants to make a final investment decision on the project before investing more cash and also wants to find another investor to share the cost.
The scale of the project is one of the biggest challenges, as it involves digging two mile-deep shafts and building a 23-mile tunnel (longer than the Channel Tunnel) under the North York Moors National Park to avoid damaging the landscape. Anglo expects it to cost £7bn.
Anglo bought Woodsmith for £405m in 2020 after the company, then known as Sirius Minerals, was on the brink of collapse.
Sirius was a stock market darling for years, but its share price collapsed after it failed to secure a crucial financing package. This wiped out the savings and pensions of some 85,000 individual investors.
Many were locals who wanted to defend the project.
An Anglo-Saxon spokesman said: ‘Those (employment) figures are based entirely on rumours. We are focused on being transparent with the project teams and our local stakeholders.’