More details emerge about Rio Tinto job losses across three iron ore sites in the Pilbara

Unions are holding talks with Rio Tinto following a wave of redundancies across three WA iron ore mines, as more details about the job losses come to light. The West Australian understands officials from the Australian Workers Union and Mining and Energy Union are meeting with Rio Tinto representatives on Friday to deal with the fallout of a WA job cull. The sit-down comes a day after The West revealed Rio had taken the axe to mining production roles across three iron ore operations at its sprawling Pilbara hub. About 90 roles have been given the chop across the West Angelas, Brockman 4 and Nammuldi sites. AWU WA secretary Brad Gandy said Rio’s move has created “significant uncertainty” for many workers. “Redundancies are not just a number, they are people and families who will now be wondering about the employment and financial future leading up to Christmas,” he said. But Mr Gandy believes Rio has acted in better faith this time compared to previous rounds of redundancies. “With these redundancies Rio has been open to consultation and ensuring workers are not adversely impacted over Christmas, which is a welcomed change to Rio’s previous approaches to redundancies.” He said Rio was hoping to get its headcount down through natural attrition during 2024 “but for whatever reason couldn’t get these numbers down” during the year. “The Union will continue to keep Rio honest to ensure that those members who want to stay are afforded every opportunity to do so and those who want to go can do so with their proper entitlements and dignity,” Mr Gandy said. “We note that a large number of these positions are highly skilled workers, it’s hard to understand how the likes of the Minerals Council of Australia say there is an ongoing critical industry skills shortage whilst big companies are letting their highly skilled workers go.” One source says Rio has offered to redeploy about about half of the sacked workers, while another source says many of the replacement roles available have inferior pay and conditions compared to the nixed jobs. West Angelas — Rio’s highest cost iron ore mine in WA — came online in 2002 and has borne the brunt of the recent job cull, according to sources. Nammuldi was opened in 2006 and Brockman 4 in 2010. On Thursday Rio declined to comment on the exact number of job losses but confirmed there had been a headcount reduction across three sites. “We continually look for ways to align our workforce with ongoing operational requirements to ensure we have the right number of people working in the right roles,” a spokeswoman said. Cutbacks of Rio’s core operational iron ore workforce in WA are a rarity in recent years, given the mining giant still makes a large profit margin on the product it ships to China even when prices are below $US100 a tonne. The spot price is currently at $US104/t. Rio last month pencilled in Pilbara iron ore costs for 2024 to be in the “upper half” of its $US21.75 to $US23.50 a tonne guidance. The Anglo-Australian mining giant is struggling to replenish its iron ore reserves with new Pilbara deposits, forcing it to ship an increasingly higher portion of lower-quality ore, which reduces profitability. Rio Tinto’s iron ore division employs more than 17,000 people.