Lithium miner SQM cuts 5% of Chile workforce as prices fail to bounce back
SANTIAGO - The world's second-biggest lithium miner SQM has begun laying off 5% of its Chilean workforce as it contends with a protracted slump in global prices for the battery metal, according to a company source and a union memo to workers seen by Reuters on Wednesday.
Lithium prices have plunged nearly 90% since their peak in late 2022 due to overproduction in China and slower-than-expected demand for electric vehicles, forcing some miners to slash jobs and halt expansions.
SQM, which missed first-quarter profit estimates, previously said it expects weak prices through the first half of the year. It declined to comment on the layoffs.
A company source said the cuts - to both the lithium and fertilizer units - would not affect core operations and or production guidance. SQM had no immediate plans for further layoffs, the person added.
Reuters could not determine the exact number of dismissals.
SQM employed 8 344 people in Chile and elsewhere at the end of last year, according to its annual report, with three-quarters working at the northern Chile operations where it extracts and processes lithium.
A memo from the Sindicato SQM Salar union, dated Tuesday, said company management had informed the group's president that 25% to 30% of the layoffs would correspond to "general roles," and the rest to supervisors. They would take place at SQM's offices in Santiago, as well as the Atacama salt flat and its lithium processing plant in northern Chile, the memo said.
"As a union we regret the decision taken by the company, which affects our members, and we categorically question the reasons behind it," the memo said, without providing further details. It also offered support to workers who lost their jobs.
U.S. firm Albemarle, the only other lithium miner in Chile, cut workers last year as part of cost-cutting measures that it said helped to offset low lithium prices.
Comments
Projects
Latest Multimedia
Latest News
Showroom
M and J Mining are leading suppliers of physical support systems as used by the underground mining industry. Our selection of products are not...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Weir is a global leader in mining technology. We recognise that our planet’s future depends on the transition to renewable energy, and that...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
