Turmoil at No. 2 Copper Mine Deepens as Freeport Fires Thousands
- Indonesian unit of miner fires 3,000 workers at Grasberg pit
- Shipments unaffected by lay-offs; strike ongoing at mine
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Turmoil at the world’s second-biggest copper mine intensified on Wednesday as Freeport-McMoRan Inc.’s Indonesia unit said it had fired 3,000 workers amid a strike that has lasted more than five weeks and cut production at the pit.
Freeport Indonesia said the workers at the giant Grasberg mine failed to return after being asked five times and it now considers them to have resigned, spokesman Riza Pratama told reporters in Jakarta on Wednesday. There are about 30,000 people at the mine, including 11,000 direct employees. Shipments of concentrate aren’t affected, though output’s not at an “optimum level” because of the ongoing strike, Pratama said, without elaborating.