Rio Tinto 'to cut costs, jobs by 30% in Europe'

Global mining giant Rio Tinto is planning to cut costs and jobs in Europe by 30 percent by the end of 2013, a union official said Tuesday after meeting with company executives. "They told us that we have to reach a reduction of costs on the order of 30 percent. This announcement will certainly worry employees," said Veronique Roche, a representative of the CFE-CGC union and the secretary of the European works council of Rio Tinto France. Staff at Rio Tinto sites in London, Paris and in Voreppe in the French region of Isere should see job cuts "including the activities of Rio Tinto Aluminium on the order of 30% on average by the end of 2013," she added. The Anglo-Australian miner, which cut 220 jobs in Europe last year, plans to complete its review by the end of the year. Rio Tinto employs nearly 2,700 people in Europe, according to Roche. The company posted a 22 percent slump in first-half profit to $5.9 billion due to commodity price falls, with a 15 percent drop in revenues in Europe outside of Great Britain. In Australia on Tuesday, Rio Tinto chief Tom Albanese said that the company was performing strongly despite global volatility, affirmed annual targets and reported a quarterly record in Australian iron ore output.