DMCI Mining Corp. said it reduced its workforce by 62 percent in the first nine months, after the protracted suspension of its mining units in Palawan and Zambales provinces.
The nickel miner said from 550, its manpower was reduced by 343 or 62 percent to 207. The number excluded thousands of seasonal workers hired during production rampup, parent company DMC Holdings said in a disclosure to the stock exchange.
Subsidiary Berong Nickel Corp. received a suspension order from the Environment Department in June this year on alleged discoloration of Barangay Berong’s river system and tributaries.
The following month another unit”•Zambales Diversified Metals Corp.–was served a suspension order due to “social issues”.
“Our hands are tied. We have no choice but to let go of most of our workers,” said DMCI Mining president Cesar Simbulan Jr.
“We are trying to retain as many people as possible by assigning them to our environmental rehabilitation sites. But mine rehabilitation is not as labor intensive as nickel production so we simply cannot absorb all of them,” Simbulan said.
Meanwhile, DMCI Holdings said it was gearing up for the soon-to-be-launched Duterte Infrastructure Plan, touted as the biggest infrastructure push in Philippine history.
DMCI president Jorge Consunji said the company was speaking with a number of possible technology partners to complement construction expertise.
Some of the potential partners are major players in Asia, Europe and the Middle East, he said.
