Displaying items by tag: Jobs
MPA lobbies for clarity and cash
26 March 2020UK: Mineral Products Association (MPA) chief executive Nigel Jackson has written to the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, welcoming his deferment of value added tax (VAT) and urging the extension of this deferment to Employer National Insurance (ENI), Corporation Tax and Business Rates. “What business needs now are fast and simple solutions that enable them to keep cash in their businesses and their employees in their jobs,” said Jackson. “Fixed costs are very high. Once the recovery starts the pent-up demand will be immense.”
Metso Corporation to centralise European warehouse operations
27 January 2020Finland: Machinery manufacturer Metso Corporation has announced plans to consolidate its European warehouse operations, currently spread over Norway, Sweden, the UK, France, Spain, the Czech Republic, Turkey and Russia, into a single location. Metso Corporation customer logistics senior vice president Jarkko Aro said the move ‘would also enable considerable savings in end-to-end freight costs and reduced CO2 emissions.’ 40 employees are potentially affected. Metso Corporation has not disclosed any locations under consideration for the facility.
FabCom unveils new fibre cement board
16 December 2019Nigeria: Chinese-owned FabCom has unveiled a new fibre cement board at a ceremony celebrating the fifth anniversary of its presence in Nigeria. The Sun has reported that the company will manufacture 5Mm2/yr at its fibre cement board plant in Ambuja, which will be operational before 1 January 2021. FabCom managing director Liuxing Wang praised the product’s environmental friendliness, noting its durability, sound insulation, fire and water resistance and multi-use workability. FabCom’s investments in Nigeria total US$190m and have created 200,000 jobs, the company says.
Loma Negra to hire 120 for new line at L’Amali plant
17 October 2019Argentina: Loma’s new line at its L’Amali plant in Olavarría Province, involving a kiln, two vertical mills and a bagging and palletising unit, will create 120 jobs, 80 of which will go to plant staff. The company had previously estimated that 220 people would work on the line. In a statement, it emphasised the importance of maximising gender parity in its recruitment process.
Loma Negra estimated that the upgrade will enlarge the plant’s capacity by 40% to 2.4Mt/yr from 1.7Mt/yr. The declaration follows the announced relocation of 45 staff members with the closure of the 1.5Mt/yr integrated Olavarría cement plant, also in Olavarría province.
KHD preparing for job cuts
13 March 2019Germany: The executive board of Humboldt Wedag (HWG), a subsidiary of KHD Humboldt Wedag International (KHD), is preparing to cut approximately 80 jobs. It has made this decision in response to a ‘difficult’ business environment in cement plant construction industry in the near future. It said that in light of this, ‘personnel capacities cannot be sufficiently utilised.’ The measures required to implement the reorganisation will be discussed with the works council soon.
Apo Cement to lay off third of employees following landslides
14 November 2018Philippines: Apo Cement is preparing to temporarily lay-off up to 30% of its employees and 40% of its contractors. It has filed a formal notice detailing its intentions with the Department of Labor and Employment in Central Visayas, according to the Philippines News Agency. It says it has been forced into reducing its workforce in response to the on-going suspension of Apo Land and Quarry following landslides in September 2018. APO Land & Quarry supplies raw materials to CHP’s subsidiary Apo Cement, and it is indirectly 40% owned by Mexico’s Cemex.
PPC makes redundancies at head office in poor market
18 October 2018South Africa: PPC has started a cost cutting campaign at its head office following poor cement sales so far in 2018. A source quoted by Business Report told the newspaper that staff redundancies had taken place already. The fall in sales has been blamed on poor local economic growth, the impact of a value added tax (VAT) increase on consumer spending and problems in the construction industry, including a fall in large infrastructure projects and private non-residential building.
Cemex Puerto Rico switches Ponce cement plant to grinding
11 January 2018Puerto Rico: Cemex Puerto Rico plans to stop clinker production at its Ponce cement plant. The site will move to grinding cement in January 2018, according to Sin Comillas. The cement producer has been unable to rule out job losses.
The changes come in response to poor cement sales that the company says are the worst in the territory since the 1950s. Cement sales have been falling since 2009 and Hurricanes Irma and Maria punished the market in the autumn with big declines in September and October 2017. At present Cemex Puerto Rico says that the local market only needs around a third of the country’s capacity. However, the Ponce plant has a production capacity of 1.2Mt/yr. The company has also cited high electricity costs as part of its decision.
ThyssenKrupp’s Industrial Solutions division to cut 1500 extra jobs as part of reorganisation process
01 September 2017Germany: ThyssenKrupp’s Industrial Solutions division plans to cut 1500 jobs in operational areas as part of its on-going reorganisation process. Around two-thirds of these positions will be based in Germany. The reduction in jobs follows a previous announcement in July 2017 to cut 500 roles in administration, also mostly in Germany. The job losses are part of the division’s ‘planets’ transformation programme, launched in 2016, which is intended to increase the business area’s competitiveness.
“To ensure Industrial Solutions can compete in the market over the long term, we need a more efficient and effective set-up that goes for our cost structure as for our global presence. Although new orders have recovered from their trough, our structures are still oversized measured against orders in hand and our medium-term requirements. We must be able to respond more flexibly to fluctuations in order intake,” said Peter Feldhaus, chief executive officer (CEO) of Industrial Solutions.
Cement plant jobs threatened in Kashmir unrest
01 November 2016India: The closure of eight cement plants in the Kashmir region due to on-going protests has put the jobs of 50,000 workers in jeopardy. A worker who has spoken to the Greater Kashmir newspaper has said that his factory has been closed since early July 2016 and he has not been paid in that period. Local cement producers are estimated to have lost US$45m as importers have benefitted.