Codelco, Chile’s state-owned copper producer, is considering shedding between 5 and 20 percent of its jobs. The decision touches the country’s most important industry and its political class alike.
The Santiago-based group has had a rough stretch. It surrendered its rank as the world’s largest copper company to Australia’s BHP, and it is struggling with production shortfalls while its investment projects slip behind schedule.
To respond, Codelco has launched a diagnostic review aimed at setting a new strategic direction and drawing up a recovery plan. The company has said the work is already under way and should be completed by the end of 2026.
Staffing disputes hold up the rescue plan
Reuters, quoting sources inside the company, reports that carrying out that plan will be difficult, and that the strategy itself will most likely be unveiled only next year. The delay is attributed to disagreements over employment levels.
Codelco currently has roughly 77,000 people on its payroll. In the view of experts, that figure is far too high and should be trimmed. The options under discussion range from a 5 percent reduction to a cut of as much as 20 percent of all posts. Specialists argue that in the present situation only deeper layoffs would secure an improvement in the company’s results.
Election arithmetic complicates the maths
The obstacle is political rather than financial. Mining occupies a central place in Chile’s economy, and the votes of its employees carry real weight at every election. A workforce reduction on this scale could set off strikes and cost the ruling politicians measurable support.
Trimming jobs at a state-owned enterprise would also sit awkwardly with a promise made by Chile’s recently elected president, Jose Antonio Kasta, who has held office since 11 March. During the campaign he declared that by 2030 he intends to lower unemployment to around 6 percent and create at least 300,000 jobs.
At the end of June, Chile’s jobless rate stood at approximately 9.5 percent.
Źródło: WNP.PL, Fot. Biswaphotography93 / Shutterstock
