Crisis-hit SA miner Amplats may scale back job cuts

JOHANNESBURG (AFP) - World number one platinum producer Anglo American Platinum may cut fewer than the 6,000 jobs announced earlier after talks with the South African government and unions, it announced Wednesday.

The parties have "agreed on measures and mitigation plans that will preserve jobs," the firm said in a statement.

The company announced 6,000 lay-offs two weeks ago, backing down from an earlier proposal to cut 14,000 as it bids to make savings worth 3.8 billion rand ($398 million, 308 million euro) a year.

Amplats, which accounts for almost 40 percent of global platinum production, swung from a profit of nearly eight billion rand in 2011 to a loss of 6.3 billion rand in 2012.

Profits were obliterated by a higher wage bill and increased electricity costs. At the same time, expensive deeper mines yielded lower grade metals.

Amplats said most of the job cuts would come in the northern city of Rustenburg, a crucible of deadly labour violence last year.

Unions have said they will violently oppose any job cuts.